Danthe Jarnhud: The Queen in the North
by Ddraigtanto
Summary: Danthe Jarnhud is an ice dragon, the youngest princess of the Great House Jarnhud and a fighter gifted with great strength and intellect, following in the footsteps of her warrior mother, Jarnelle. When Jarnelle dies, her father Thorstein attempts to marry her to a noble from House Abelburben, Danthe flees to the frozen north, to the ruins of a fortress known only as The Freezer...
1. Act One: Defiance

_"You must conquer the world before you may conquer me."  
><em>- Haraldic words of House Dante

**The Jarnhud Kingdom is a harsh mistress. Our summers are cold, our winters white. It is a tough place for tough dragons. To our west, we had the Kingdom of Burben, ruled by House Abelburben. Between them, House Horn of Hornholm, and us, House Jarnhud, we rule the draconic North of Scandinavia. It's not perfect, but it's home.**

My name is Danthe. I am old, and I am tired, but I have lived a long and fulfilled life. Though ice flows in my blood, I shan't see another summer. My children will be my legacy, and when I am gone, they will tell my story...

**I was born in the Barony of Jarnhud, the fourth child of House Jarnhud, the youngest daughter of Jarnelle Jarnhud, my mother, and Thorstein Dofri**, **my father. I can remember my childhood years. Before my father tried to marry me off and chain me to a husband I felt nothing for, I grew up with my older siblings: My sisters Helga and Kara, and my brother Rolf...**

"Ok ok, ow! Danthe, no pinning!"  
>I was never a<em> girly <em>girl, I never was and I never would be. I play fought often with Rolf in the courtyard; sometimes with magic, sometimes with wooden swords, sometimes we just wrestled until we were too tired to stand. On this occasion, I'd won.  
>"Forgive me brother." I smirked. "I thought it was the job of the male to be the warrior. I'd have thought big, strong you could easily pin your little sister with ease!"<br>"You're only slightly younger than me!" Rolf protesed, climbing to his feet, embaressed. "The gods also made you really strong!"

"Really strong, and really smart. I could see what you were up to a mile away."  
>"It's not fair." Rolf scowled, or tried to, he was soft, and he and I got along far better than we did with our older sisters. "...Still, it's a lot of fun when I <em>do <em>best you."  
>"Well, one must let you win sometimes." I grinned. "Come on, best of three?"<br>**  
>We often play fought in our youth; Helga and Kara were much older than me and Rolf; <strong>_**they **_**spent all their time in pretty silk dresses, being courted by fancy noblemen: If I recall, Helga was the only one of my two sisters who married, but those nightmares weren't until later in my life. I had other prolems to face until then, not least those of my mother and father...**

As me and Rolf continued to tumble and scrap, we suddenly heard the stern cry of our father.  
>"Rolf, Danthe! What in the name of the gods are you doing?!" He marched over to us, and pulled us apart with his paws. "Rolf Jarnhud, you do not fight with a dragoness!"<br>"I asked him to!" I shouted, trying to defend him and I: "We were playing!"  
>"She was <em>winning.<em>"  
>"I do not want to hear your excuses!" He spat: "No honourable dragon will ever harm a dragoness, not least his own sister! You should be ashamed!"<br>"Father!" I growled: "It's fine! I wanted him to do it! So I could learn how to fight, and use my magic! This wouldn't be a problem if..." I stopped: "Well, if you actually trained me as you do Rolf."  
>Father sighed, sitting down next to us, curling around us and frowning: "I wish I could, but Danthe, you're a dragoness. You and your sisters will be the ones who continue our family name, a dragoness is too valueable to risk by having them fighting. My child, that's what us males are for. We breed, and we fight, and we die, all so our wives and our daughters can build our future."<br>"But father, Danthe is such a better fighter than me! Please father, please let her train with me!"  
>"What if something happens to me?" I bluted out: "What if I'm caught of guard, and there's none of you <em>males <em>to 'protect' me?"  
>"Yes, you see father?! She needs to know how to use her ice element!"<br>He pulled a face: "...Children, these are problems to worry about when you are older. Let's have no more of this training for now. Run along and play, and I'll see what your mother thinks..."

**Sadly, nothing came of it. Mother agreed with my father, saying that it was 'unladylike' for me to take the life of a warrior. Oh, I remember how angry I was: Jarnelle was a great, celebrated warrior in her time, she knew the glories of combat better than most, and yet she had the audacity to stop me from following in her footsteps! It wasn't fair!  
>However, Rolf, my darling twin brother Rolf, he refused to let that stop us, and we continued to train, in secret...<strong>

It was late at night when he and I would continue our regime. While we were twins, Rolf was the first to hatch out of the pair of us, and often enjoyed reminding me of it.  
>"Father has no problems training me it seems. Doesn't stop me from training you. I've been enjoying this, even if you've beaten me more times than I can count."<br>He approached a table, upon which was a bow and a number of arrows, their metals heads removed and replaced with corks, the corks were coated in red paint which hadn't quite dried yet.  
>"So, the most vulnerable parts of a dragon's body are...?"<br>"The underbelly and the wings." I answered: "I know all of this already."  
>"Do you want to know who else knows?" In a flash, he drew an arrow and fired; the projectile hit my chest, leaving a circle of red where it struck me. "Humans. Father told me a human, skilled with one of these bows, can easily wound a dragon with an arrow to our weaker parts." He smiled: "Fortunately, as you know, we ice dragons have arrows of our own." He huddled into furs as he approached a target. "And that's why we're in the courtyard, in the middle of a winter night. A spray of cold air is easy, a hatchling can do <em>that<em>. A step up from that is some slightly lumpy spit which doesn't help anybody and is pretty gross. But dragons of our age should be capable of producing ice darts." To demonstrate, he flapped his wings and floated over to Danthe, where he proceeded to fire an icicle dart into the target, hitting the outer ring. He chuckled: "Okay, I'm a terrible shot. I'm not much of a fighter, but you are! You'll do great!"

Ah, Rolf. If there was only one thing he was good at, it was boosting my confidence. He would've made a great teacher himself one day. I stood a proper stance, and concentrated on what I was trying to do. It was a ultimately spitting, a spit of frozen ice like an arrow. It wasn't siliva I was trying to fire from my mouth, but an extremely cold fluid which was produced in the elemental lung and bolstered by magic. It was simply a matter of focus.  
>As it happens, I'm a pretty good shot; my first go was less than successful however. I had not expected the suddenness of the shards escaping my mouth and I reeled slightly, sending the dart in a completely unpredictable course! Rolf ducked behind a table as the shard embedded itself in the palisade just behind him. We both went silent, watching how deeply the dart had burrowed into the wooden wall. Despite this, Rolf found himself chuckling.<br>"Well, my sister, nobody can doubt your strength, that's for certain."  
>My second shot was much better: I was prepared for the 'kick' and I quickly became able to compensate for it, as if through instinct. The shard flew through the air, striking the centre of the target.<br>"Very good." Rolf nodded. "You always have been a fast learner." He turned to a book he'd also placed on the table. "...So, how about this? I've heard stories of dragons coating themselves in their own ice, like armour."  
>I pulled a face: "Gods, no. That sounds like a really stupid idea. Give me iron and hides any day."<br>"Can I even persuade you to try this?"  
>"You do realise we ice dragons <em>can <em>die of cold."  
>"I know, I know." Rolf grumbled: "Ok, stubborn. We'll skip the ice armour. Father hasn't even taught me that anyway. Dragons don't use it anymore anyway. Say you said, iron and hides seem to be more and more popular among our kind than ever before." He yawned: "Ok, I think we can call it a night here... You did good, Danthe. You'll make a great warrior some day."<br>**  
>Rolf proved to be one of the most important dragons in my life when it came to becoming a warrior. My mother could see the effects of my gradualy more strenuous activites as I grew into an adolescent, and then into a young adult dragoness; and yet she always turned a blind eye to it. However, my father was less willing to ignore my bruises and occasional cuts and sprains. A divide was forming between us: Mother's age had begun to rob her of her old strength, and all of us could see it; it put a great strain upon us all, none more so than my father and me, who had differing ideas as to what my future should be...<strong>

"I will not marry that dragon!" I hissed after my father dragged me into his study. It had happenned, my first period of heat: It burned through me like my blood was on fire; I struggled to cope with my urges to jump the first male who wasn't my own kin. It hadn't changed my mind though, I still didn't want to be forced into a marriage with anyone.  
>"Danthe, this is something you knew was going to happen. Men are presented to you, you pick one, you marry him, and he gives you children to continue our family name!" Father paced up and down in furstration.<br>"They're all idiots! Idiotic Abelburbens and idiotic Horns!"  
>"The Abelburbens and the Horns are two of the most powerful draconic families in the North! Your sisters understood this, and yet Helga still ran off with a Russian foreigner!"<br>"That wasn't my fault!"  
>"Regardless, the Abelburben lads didn't like Kara, but they liked iyoui. You're strong, you're smart, and you're beuatiful. but most importantly, you're young. You've finally entered heat for the first time, you can bare eggs of your own, eggs with Abelburben and Jarnhud blood."  
>"But I don't want anything to do with them!"<br>"IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT!" Father roared: "...If you have children, they'll be of the blood of both Jarnhuds and Abelburbens. They value strong bloodlines, and a mix of ours and theirs couldn't be stronger. If we offer them Rolf, our name will fade from memory, all his children will be theirs. But _you?_ You can unite our houses. If you're that selfish that you'll put your own desires above the good of the family..." He scowled at me. "You are a fool... A stupid fool who shames her family name!" I was shaking as father pushed me out of the study. "...You _will_ marry one of theirs, for the family, and for your own good."

Things only got worse after that. Mother was dying from an illness which plauged our kind known as Dragonsrot: A wasting disease which withered away the scales and the body of a dragon, making them appear much older than they actually are, before robbing them of their sight, slowly clouding the pupils with a strange, milky coloured fluid.  
>"Give me your paw." She coughed to me on her deathbead. "I can no longer see your beautiful young face. Please, I want to know you're still there."<br>Shaking, I offered her my paw, which she took with a weak grip, a world away from the strength she once had.  
>"Curse the gods." I spoke: "Why did they have to do this? Why did they see fit to take you from us?"<br>"Do not blame the gods for this, my dear Danthe..." She coughed again a deep heavy cough which left her breathless: "...My time had to come eventuallly, I just wish it had been under different circumstances. Helga has betrayed us, she's gone, ran off with a foreigner and has foresaken her family name. Kara will inherit our lands and titles."  
>"Then, then why did you summon for me, not her?"<br>"Because Kara is a fool. She's a fool, and you're not. It may be that you'll never rule our lands, nor will your twin brother. But I'm proud of you... You've not let power or wealth make you complacent, you're a warrior at heart, like me..." She sighed: "I know you're at odds with your father. You might hate him for what he forces you to do, but he loves you, and he only wants whats best for you, and all of us... I wish you could see it as we do. You might think you want the life of a warrior, you're like me in that regard. But I grew to resent it, and wanted the life I had before. I grew sick of it, and yet I see so much of what I was like in you. I love you, and I'll always be watching over you, but please, be careful..."  
><strong><br>She died after that, I remember holding back tears as my blood burned as I can only imagine it must burn in a fire dragon. My mother's dying words circled in my head, driving me down a path I could never turn back on.  
>I ran away from home that night. The words of my mother and my father conflicted. They both wanted something different from me, I couldn't please them both, and I couldn't cope with it any longer, I had to get away. <strong>  
><strong><br>There were once two great castles within my family's land: Castle Jarnhud, where we live. The other was further north: A ruin where it always snowed and the winds were bitterly cold; once, long ago, it was known as Bissthalan Hall, but now it's known only as The Freezer. People claimed it couldn't be held, but I wasn't prepared to let that stop me...**

The wind howled all around me as I huddled inside one of the crumbling rooms of the ruins; it was pretty spacious, but in its current state, did little to protect from the bitter cold. I cursed the foul weather as I continued to attempt to light a fire. I'd set up the firewood already, but it was times like this I'd give my left wing to be a fire dragon. There was one slight glimmer of hope for this place, and that was the larder: It had been built underground behind a pretty secure door; the sheer cold of this place made it a natural icehouse, and the stores of fish and vegetables inside would keep me going for a few weeks, provided I didn't freeze to death first.  
>Finally, a spark! Flames started to lick at the dry wood and, with the blessing of Ro'Morne herself, the fireplace was ready, the heat it gave was deeply and happily welcomed by myself.<p>

With a fire secured, and food in my belly, my thoughts turned to my future. My exodus from Castle Jarnhud had been a rushed affair; I'd stolen my brothers cloak and armour so I might have something to protect me; it didn't fit properly, and was far heavier than I might have preferred, but it would help stave off the elements up here in this untamed land. I couldn't go back to Castle Jarnhud, not after my less than graceful exit. Father would never forgive me for this, and Kara wouldn't want me getting in the way. The dragon I truly missed most however was Rolf. Rolf simply understood me and my position; honestly, I think he would've been happy if I was the male, and he the female, how fate had a cruel sense of humour...

My thoughts haunted me until I finally fell asleep from exhaustion. When I woke, the weather had calmed: It was no longer snowing and the skies were a clear blue. However, I didn't wake up, so much as I had been woken up.  
>"Danthe." Came a familiar voice before I felt a paw shake my shoulder. "Danthe! Wake up, please!"<br>I blinked, looking up with a scowl as I shook the snow of my back. Upon seeing who had awoken me however, I couldn't stop the frown from quickly vanishing.  
>"Rolf?" I blinked: "What, what are you doing here?"<br>He paused, ordering a guard who was accompanying him (and looked heavily overencumbered from everything he was carrying) to leave them with some privacy, before he returned his attention to me: "I could ask you the same question. I've wanted to see you, and talk."  
>"Why?" I snorted: "So you can persuade me to go back so Father can force me into a pretty silk dress and make me marry some Abelburben? Father would never allow me back after this anyway."<br>"Father can go fuck himself." Rolf snorted: "I miss you, even Kara misses you, and I know you and her didn't exactly get on all the time. But this is no place for you."  
>A scoff escaped me: "It's a ruin, a blank slate. It's no place for me, then I'll <em>make it <em>a place for me, somehow."  
>Rolf actually smirked upon hearing that: "I figured you'd say that... Well, Kara is queen, and Father isn't in charge of the house anymore..." He sighed: "Still, I know you're stubborn. But that stubbornness could outweather the gods. I'll see what I can do back home, perhaps I can get Kara to help you out here somehow... This castle has been left abandoned for many years... I'm sure all you'd need to do is step in and claim the respective titles..." He leaned in and hugged me: "I don't know when we'll see each other again. Things are... difficult, back down south. Still, I thought I'd leave you with some things which might make life easier for you up here." He called the guard in again, and informed him to set 'it' down; the guard nodded, taking a large chest, which had been strapped to his back, and placed it down on the stone floor. Rolf opened it to reval a sizeable amount of gold and silver, as well as a large amount of food, travel equipment, blankets, books and lastly, a small, iron crown. I smiled: "Thank you..."<br>"You'll need something to pay people in the futre, most likely." Rolf explained: "There should be some fabrics in there for you to set up a tent for the time being, before you can make this ruin habitable. That's what you'll need to gold and silver for, **don't waste it**. Part of it is all the horde Mother left to you, the rest is what she left to me. Every piece."  
>"Rolf..." My face dropped: "I..."<br>"Don't, even, go there. You're going to need this, far more than I ever will. I'll just waste the wealth Mother gave to me. Perhaps you can put it to better use." He sighed again: "The crown? I noticed that took your eye almost immediately. You're still a princess of House Jarnhud, nobody is going to take that away from you, and soon, if you get my way, you'll have titles of your own. I figured you may as well have the crown to match the position. Gold and silver are weak, bendable metals. Iron is strong, and I imagine you appricate the meaning behind it."  
>The crown was more like a tiara than a crown; it featured three large points and looked more like dragon spines rather than metal; the centre 'point' was the largest, and featured a large sapphire set into its face. Trying it on, it fitted perfectly, and suited me very well indeed.<br>"Thank you for coming Rolf." I smiled.  
>"I told you, I had to see you one last time." He nodded, his smile weak and poorly hiding his worries about the situation: "...Good luck."<br>**  
><strong>Rolf's visit gave me hope, and the tent certainly gave me somewhere warm to sleep for the time being. I'd need to find someone to help me rebuild the Freezer, but for the time being, I aquanted myself with the fortress I would be making my home.  
>A few days passed without event, until one day, a messanger arrived, looking for me. He bowed, and presented me with a letter and a package, before leaving as quickly as he arrived. The letter itself was marked with the seal of my house, curious, I opened it and read it aloud...<p>

_Dear Sister,_

_I regret your refusal to leave the ruins formerly known as Bissthalan Hall. You are missed dearly by your family here at Castle Jarnhud, but I understand that we must make our own paths in our lives. Father continues to complain and worry about your decision, but it's no longer his choice as to how you live your life, and he is no longer in charge of this family. **I am**._

_Princess Danthe of Hourse Jarnhud, I hearby name you Countess of Bissthalan, as well as Baroness of The Freezer. I charge you with its maintainance, as well as with the taxation and the protection of the peasantry of your new domain, but otherwise, it is your realm to manage as you see fit. Me and your brother Rolf decided that it would be better this way, as we can at least know for certain where you are, and that you are safe. I know The Freezer is a ruin at the present time, so you will need to hire workmen to rebuild the ruins, and make it into a great holding once more. I know of a dragon who might be able to help you in this regard, and I have ordered him to go to you. Hopefully, you will agree with me here, and will hire his expertise. Inside the package I have sent you are the various documents and seals you will need to govern your new lands. I understand that Rolf has already seen to provide you with the finances to pay for staff, levies and builders._

_Best regards,_

_Queen Kara of House Jarnhud._

_PS: Best of luck to you sister. We all wish you well, and miss you very much. You will always be welcome in your family home as long as I am in charge. And, regardless of what Father might say, he loves you, and misses you as much as any of us. I can see it in his eyes._

**So that was it. With the signing of a letter, I became the landed ruler of my own realm. The excitment of it, as well as the joy from a letter from home, was equally met with the daunting reality of my new position, as well as how far I would need to go to ensure the castle was fit for purpose. However, having a source of income would certainly make it much easier for me; I just needed that builder to arrive, so work could finally begin...**

"I don't care where you source the stone from! Wood won't work here, you need stone to make a strong fort!"  
>The builder, as well as many workers in his employ, had finallly arrived: He was a Roman dragon by the name of Florus Silice; I didn't know a lot about him, save for the fact he was an older dragon, stuck in the past when the Roman Empire actually meant something; now, he was offering his services to me... For a fee, of course.<br>"_Savages_ build out of wood, my dear Danthe." He explained: "Are _you _a savage? I think not! Build a fort out of wood, it might last a few years, but it might be burned down by the first maruading fire dragons who decide they want what you have. Build out of stone, and it will last an eternity."  
>I shivered, burrowing myself into my cloak for warmth, although Florus seemed far worse off than I: "Very well. How much are we talking here? Gold? Silver? Concubines, what?"<br>He groaned: "I have no interest in mounting your Scandinavian women." He stated: "I know this land has riches. Pay me in gold and perhaps you and I can civilize the savages up here."  
>I snarled: "We are <em>not<em> savages!" I barked, but he merely rolled his eyes.  
>"Have you witnessed the glory of Rome, ever, in your life? Our cities are the greatest cities in the world, I care not for these Draconic or Scandinavian togunes. Latin is the <em>true<em> language of God. And it is through the mercy of God and the emperors of old that dragons were permitted to live within the empire, and I brought our forts to Britannia. If you don't like it, good luck trying to find some pagan barbarian to build your fortress for you."  
>I continued to scowl as I watched the pompus Roman cunt prance about <em>my <em>ruins. I hated him, but he was right: I needed him. Castle Jarnhud was the only other stone castle I'd ever seen, the locals having little choice but to live in either wooden huts and longhouses, or caves; this new fortress of mine would be a marked sign of progress in the face of the Abelburbens, Horns and my own family alike. If there ever was a war and an army marched on The Freezer, those same armies would fall and freeze at her walls.

I retreated to my chambers after that confrontation, pouring myself a mug of beer and slumping into a chair. A fire burned, but the walls were broken, and there was nothing to cover the windows, from which snow and cold winds poured into the room. I'd begun to regret running away from home, but this was a choice I made, and I refused to let the cold best me!  
>I was going to be the master of my own castle. I was a good fighter, but I couldn't manage an entire castle by myself, especially not one as large as this...<p>

**I sent out messengers across Draconic Scandinavia, calling for the best and brightest so I might form a council who could help me manage my land. And yet, today, I only remember the face of one of those dragons, the others have faded into obscurity. But no, one dragon, my steward, will be a dragon I could never forget.  
>Finn Av Yrsa was originally a dragon from what would soon become Norway. He was everything I admired, both strong of body and quick of mind. His features were plain, but I enjoyed his company from the day he arrived in my court.<strong>

Though the fortifications were yet to be completed, and some towers were still unsafe to venture, my court was full and teeming with activity, and my council and my castle were fully staffed; I had the foundations of a great holding already.  
>Perhaps it was hasty to hold a grand feast this early to celebrate the holding's progress, but that didn't really stop me from doing so anyway.<br>Fires roared in the great hall, illuminating my banners which hung from the walls. A great table was laiden with fish and vegitables; the centrepiece being the roasted remains of a great elk, laiden with rich berries. Beer and ale flowed like summer streams and the hall was lively and merry.  
>I too was merry, I drank as much as any dagon around me, even Florus, after the initally jarring first drink of our alcohol, was able to drink himself into a stupor as his Scandinavian counterpart could: He sat at one of the further away tables (for I still didn't want anything to do with him) deep in an argument with one of the draconic vikings over... something; while I occasionally heard odd bits of their argument (mentioning togas). Eventually, my fascination with the argument passed as Florus left the hall, presumably to go and vomit as I'd heard Romans used to, lightweight...<br>"My lady!" I heard Finn call to me from my side: "My lady Danthe..." He slurred, a daft smile on his face: "We need yer' words o' wisdom! Marshal Gauti and his brother Grim are arguing about who is stronger! My, my lady, who do you think would win in a fight?!"  
>"It's me, my lady!" Gauti, a stout, stocky dragon barked: "I'm so strong, I could pull a tree from its roots with my paws alone!"<br>"Nonsense!" Grimm spat: "He might be able to pull a tree from the ground, but I could best every dragon at this feast in a duel!"  
>I smirked, I longed for a good fight: "You could beat any dragon?" I asked: "Very well, beat me in a friendly tussel, and you will be the strongest dragon at this feast!"<br>"Ha!" Gauti laughed aloud: "I'd pay a hundred pieces of silver to see you beaten by a dragoness!"  
>Finn smirked: "Ha! There's no better fighter in the realm than Danthe Jarnhud! She'll wipe the floor with you!"<br>This declaration had drawn quite the crowd! I stood to my feet, a confident smirk crossed my face, I could take a dragon like Gauti. There wasn't any malice to it, it was quite clear to see in both him and I: He was a marshal, I was a warrior; it was time to prove ourselves.  
>We quickly found ourselves in the centre of a circle of cheering spectators. There were some rules to this fight, obviously: For one, we weren't trying to kill each other, so we weren't allowed to bite or scratch; secondly, no magic. The fight was effectively a wrestling match, and I made the first move. I pounced on Gauti, who may have been too slow to get out of the way, but was able to grab me with his forepaws and push me back before swinging at me with his paw. I blocked with a quick flick of the wing and rolled to his side and jabbing him at the sides! As he fell to the floor, the crowd laughed, I was too quick for him! Well, almost; as I lept to pin him, he kicked me back and spung to his feet: His kick had brusied my underbelly, but that was little more than a reminder not to let it happen again! Again he lunged to hit me, but this time I grabbed the opponent's paw and yanked him forward! Unexpecting of the attack, he fell forwards, where I pinned him with a foot upon the back of his neck. Gauti struggled, but eventually, was forced to give in.<br>Victorious, I freed my marshal, who rose to his face; he was gracious in his defeat if nothing else.  
>"My lady, you humble me." He spoke, offering me his paw to shake: "Only a fool would look at you and judge you weak for being a dragoness, you're fast, and stronger than you look. You are truly a warrior who can best her boasts." He couldn't hide his embaressment at his defeat however, and his friends didn't let him forget his loss as he staggered back to the dining table for meat and ale; as did I, where Finn had been merrily singing in my name with some fellow dragons who, in part down to the beer in their bellies, joined him in his verse:<br>_"...Let's sing in the name of our lady Danthe  
>whose speed and her strength will win any day!<br>Poor Gauti the marshal, so short and so stout  
>poor Gauti the marshal, whom she pushed about!<br>We sing for our lady, whom forever henceforth  
>we sing for our lady, the Queen in the North!"<br>_**  
>The feat cemented how life in The Freezer was going to be for us at first: Finn was my steward, and by far the most loyal and valued member of my court: He was the only dragon of them all who, while I held good favour towards all my councilmen, he was a dragon whom I became very attached to, a good friend whom I could rely on and trust with the castle's wealth and staff, as well as any other matters I might need attending to. Perhaps most importantly at the time however, he oversaw the construction of the Freezer, being the middle man between me and Florus, so I didn't have to deal with him, and building could go on smoothly...<strong>

"Well, your majesty." Finn spoke, he stood at my side atop the castle battlements as we watched the builders add the finishing touches to their work; they were nearly finished now, all that was left was to add some mortar for strength, add some decoration to the walls, hang banners and lay down some wooden spikes to the outer palisades. "It's been a very long time, almost a year, but it's been worth it. I'm happy to report your fortress if finally finished."  
>"Thank you Finn." I smiled: "You've manged things here very well. You've been a hard worker and a good friend these past years. I'm glad I hired you."<br>"High praise indeed from such a good queen." He noted: "All we need to do now is deal with our Roman friend."  
>I smirked: "Or we could just take him. You and I? Pompus little twat probably can't even fight."<br>"Yes, we could kill him, but it would give you a pretty bad reputation around these parts, and things are bad enough already."  
>I nodded, I was many things, but I wasn't a dragoness who would kill a dragon to avoid having to pay them. "What am I mising, Finn? I noticed your face was grim from the second you joined me here."<br>Finn went quiet, thinking out his next sentence, it wasn't going to be good news however he put it: "I have bad news... Your sister Helga, she's returned to the Jarnhud realm, and she's brought an army..."

**Helga Jarnhud, the treacherous first daughter of the family. The army wasn't 'hers' per say, but her husband's: Jotun the Perisher,** **one of the most powerful ice dragons alive. He originated somewhere in Eastern Europe; he was a brutally strong dragon who, while he didn't hold any lands or titles, made a fortune from raiding the villages, towns and cities of barbarian humans and weaker dragons. His marriage to Helga was one part sincere love, and three parts financial gain for the pair of them.**

A man on a horse rode to the walls of my fortress, demanding an auidence. My own 'army' was merely peasants, a few supportive dragons and their lesser families and my council, but we had the elements on our side, nobody could siege the Freezer!  
>"Speak, human!" I bellowed from the walls, twenty men drew arrows from their bows at both my sides.<br>"I come in the name of your sister, the rightful Queen Helga Jarnhud!" He shouted in reply.  
>"Helga gave up her claim to Jarnhud when she ran off with a Holmgardr savage! It matters not to me, Kara is the head of the family now, and the ruler of our family's lands and titles!"<br>The human smirked: "Kara is dead." He explained: "Had you not heard? Her house put up a good fight, but King Jotun was far superior in strength to all of them."  
>I froze, my mouth went dry and I trembled in rage and horror: "She's dead? Helga killed her own sister?!"<br>"Rolf and your late father put up a stirring defense of her and your family home, but King Jotun is a superior fighter to both of them. They couldn't have been slayed by a stronger dragon."  
>For the first time in years, I felt tears well in my eyes, my family was dead! All of them! Dead! "Kinslaying demon!" I cried: "Your queen is nothing more than a murderous whore!"<br>"And now you're next in line from her. Females seem to have all the power around here! With Kara dead, _you _would be heir in the eyes of these miserable peasants! If you surrender now and fade into osbcurity, perhaps your life shall be spared!"  
>"Never!" I screamed: "The kinslayer can march to my fortress and die! I'll rip her apart for her evil crimes! Run away, human! My men shall pierce you with arrows and ice if you do not leave this place!"<br>"Take aim!" my marshal ordered on cue. The human was no fool, he jumped onto his horse and galloped away: It was war.

Even through the tightly sealed shutters, the howls of icy winds continued to haunt the otherwise undisturbed silence of the war room. Only my steward, my marshal and myself sat around the simple round table, looking at an old and worn map of the Jarnhud Realm. We Jarndhuds are great at many things, but we're no sailors: North and the east were the frozen waters of the Murman Sea; the west was blocked by mountains and hills where the snow and the storms could only be even worse. There was only one road which lead to the Freezer: It was south, and Helga's men would be marching right up it, with the audacity to fly the Jarnhud colours in anger against her own kin! Aside from the insult it bore me, it also proved to be a problem for other reasons.  
>"The soldiers will be confused." I recall my marshal telling me. "We can't use the banners of the Jarnhud in battle, our men need new uniforms."<br>"Uniforms!?" I spluttered: "Banners! Marshal, I hired you to help me plan my tactics, and lead my troops! Not some stupid army fashion!"  
>"These <em>are <em>tactics, my leige." He snorted, craning his long, aching neck: "If we fly the same flags as our enemy, it'll confuse our men. They'll have no idea who they're supossed to be attacking. They'll end up killing each other, just as much as they might end up killing our enemies, and we need our men more than Jotun the Perisher needs his!"  
>"Don't dare shout at our lady!" Finn rose to my defense. "Remember your place, cavedweller!"<br>"Finn, please." I spoke with a scowl and a groan: "Alright, fine. You've twisted my wing. Let's waste time redesiging my banners and colours rather than plan the defense of this fortress..."  
>The banners of House Jarnhud are, as they have always been, a silver crown upon an grey field, it was a symbolisation of what the Jarnhuds were: The Masters of Silver and Snow. I hated having to give up my heraldry like this, but it had to be done: The banners I would be flying would bare an iron crown upon a field of azure, blue and white would be my colours: The Mistress of Iron and Ice. After that waste of time, my marshal finally begun talking about <em>real <em>tactics.  
>"...I'll seend a message to Black Band, shadow dragon and draconian mercenaries. They're pretty heavy troops and they'll bolster our numbers greatly."<br>I'd heard about the Black Band, they were a group of warriors and shadow dragons from Tröndelag who, as their name suggested, wore heavy black and red armour; though they were quite fearsome in their apperance, their loyalty to their paymaster was absolute and eternal. "Good, the more men we have, the better." I sighed: "Is it going to be enough though?"  
>Then, Finn made a slight cough, asking if he might be able to speak: "Hmm, if I may, your majesty. We still have Florus the Roman in our employment."<br>"That pompus bastard?" I snarled: "What on earth is he still doing here?"  
>"I needed someone to be in charge of the castle builders so the wall can be maintained where needed for me. We give him food, beer and a warm bed on the condition he stays out of your way. But right now, what he knows how to set up some of those old Roman siege weapons. We may have to suffer his smug hubris for a while, but isn't it worth it if we can all keep our hides?"<br>I huffed: "Gods damn us all. I can't deny it Finn, that would be an excellent idea if we can pull it off. I've heard stories of their weapons launching a spear straight through a dragon's chest and out through the other side again. We need something like that!"

Florus himself upon hearing this was as typically helpful as he normally is; that is to say, he was, once again, being an egotistical and entitled know-it-all now that he knew there was something I needed which only he could provide. It had grown to be too much of a problem, I went to confront him.  
>"You want <em>me <em>to build you siege ballistas?" He smirked: "Oh, I'm pretty sure I could do that you're majesty. How much are you willing to pa-"  
>I puched him, right in his smug little face, sending him crumpling to the floor with a squeal! "What?!" I barked: "Do you want me to <em>pay <em>you? How about this? You do it, and I don't throw you out to Jotun for his men to have their way with you your pretty little Roman cunt!" I dragged the whimpering dragon to his feet, my forepaws clasped around his shoulders like a clamp: "Listen to me man! We need every defense we can get to survive this attack. IF they get through, we **all **die! And that includes _you_! Understand?!"  
>Quivering, the dragon nodded, and so I set him down again. "<strong>Don't <strong>make me do that again. You have a job to do, get to it!"  
>For the first time, the Roman silently nodded, bowing slightly before scuttling away...<p>

It was late, but I couldn't sleep. I found myself wandering the castle, as I sometimes do, my legs leading me to the battlements. From there, I stopped still, looking over the fortress and the world beyond. I rubbed my legs, I'd neglected to remove the plate iron bracers and leg plating before attempting to get into bed, and they'd been cutting into my skin for a while; readjusting them helped, but it left faint marks for where the metal had dug in. This wasn't the first time this had happened, as I buried myself into my cloak, I didn't care for the discomfort and the weight the armour brought to my body.  
>I sighed, I did it, I got my wish: I was a warrior now, and soon I'd be leading my fellow warriors into a battle for our lives, or else my sister would kill us all. I had been in the Freezer for so long now, it felt like so many years, I didn't know how to be anything other than a warrior. I'd certainly forgotten how to be a <em>dragoness <em>a long time ago_.  
><em>"Ah, there you are." I heard my steward speak as he saw me and trotting over to where I stood. "I don't know what you did to Florus, but he's been working with the builders all night to set up the ballistas..." He smirked: "Seems somebody gave him quite the smack to the face. I dare say he had it coming."  
>I chuckled. "I've been wanting to do that ever since the first day he crawled into my castle."<br>"I hope you're not going to beat all of your staff in order to get them to do what you like?"  
>I smiled: "Oh, I'm sure there's at least one person about here who I wouldn't be laying a paw on, unless they wanted me to."<br>"Hm." Finn nodded: "That dragon is lucky. He must get to see a side to you beyond the 'warrior queen'."  
>"Is that how people see me? As simply a warrior queen?" I looked down at the floor. "I can't say I blame them. I always wanted to be a warrior. Travel the world, be a master of my own destiny. Did I ever tell you about the story of why I left?"<br>"I heard you ran away." Came Finn's answer.  
>"Yeah, I did." I told him: "I was in heat for the first time when I did, and my father wanted me to get married, to an Abelburben if I recall."<br>He looked at me: "So, why didn't you?"  
>"I didn't want to get married, I don't think I was ready for it. I didn't want to tie myself down to a husband, because then I'd have to have kids, and then I'd never get to leave the home. Having to have a <em>male protect me <em>for the rest of my life? Fuck off. What good am I if I'm not even able to protect myself? I'd sooner be dead than have to depend upon somebody."  
>"Nonsense." Finn protested: "That's utter nonesense. You might be out of action for a couple of months if you ever had kids, but only a fool would try to peg you down like that. But, to go through your entire life alone just to avoid the risk? Under all that armour and fur is a dragoness who I respect, and I adore, and I'll always follow. It's okay to need help sometimes. Nobody expects you to deal with anything completely by yourself, and you shouldn't have to."<br>"Oh, don't portray me as such a saint." I snapped: "My reasons for leaving were all completely selfish. If I'd stayed, I'd be able to perhaps build a bridge between the Jarnhuds and the Abelburbens... Perhaps my family might still be alive."  
>Finn's face fell a little; he didn't speak initially, but he slowly sat closer to me, draping his wing over me and holding me tight, sharing his body heat with mine: It felt... good.<br>The gravity of what Finn was doing seemed to hit home for him, and he winced slightly: "Please..." He spoke, his tone nervous: "Forgive my boldness for, well..." He lifted his wing slightly: "This. I mean only to try to make you feel better. You being stuck back in Castle Jarnhud, married to a dragon you don't care for wouldn't have changed anything. The only thing it would've acchieved would be to make you miserable, and then later on, you might be dead with your family. At least this way, you not only get the chance to avenge them, but since Helga is no longer the rightful queen, the Jarnhud domain rightfully falls to you." He smiled: "Nothing would make me happier than to see you be _the_ queen, in more than just name and song."  
>I sighed. Finn's presence was comforting, far beyond anything else in this frozen fortress, I found myself leaning against him warm side in a move which was admittedly unusual for me nowadays: Deep within my mind, I feared the coming battle, not for fear of my barony or even my life, but for the thought of having to continue this journey if Finn somehow perished in the fight. I hadn't felt this way in a long time, part of me wanted him, want <em>this<em>, more than I wanted anything else.  
>What I did next was stupid, and utterly unbefitting of my position: It started with me burrowing into my companion's side, no longer caring for the percieved inappropriateness of a 'lowly' steward holding his leige in such a way, he was warm, and the warmth he gave stirred up something deep within myself which had been buried for such a long time; that, however, was <em>not<em> the stupid thing. The stupid thing was when I kissed him on the cheek.  
>I realised what I did immediately, as did he, and I pulled away quickly, a flush of embaressment and self-anger flooding over me.<br>"Erm, you're majesty..." Finn spoke: "Did you just..."  
>"Don't, say it. Please, just don't." I stammered: "I'm sorry, that was foolish, I shouldn't have done that. Now is not the time!" I paced up and down, unsure what to do about my new predicament; I didn't fully understand <em>why <em>I did what I did, though, deep down, I don't think I regretted the kiss so much as I did how Finn might respond. "I think we both just need some sleep, or, something, I need to clear my head." With that, I rather unceremoniously retreated from the battlements.

Love, not even love, a mere attraction to another dragon, I had no time for it! Not now. There was a war to fight, and the castle was to be sieged! What if I was to act upon this newfound desire of mine, only for he who I felt this way towards to die shortly after? This was different from all the times when I was younger: I didn't want this back then, but now, I didn't _want _to want it, for fear of losing it.  
>I was in heat, that didn't help. It had been so long since I acted upon my body's instincts that it had come to the point where I simply ignored them; however, this time doing so would be utterly impossible.<br>This was bloody torture, I couldn't shake the thoughts and the feelings from my mind no matter how hard I tried! I had always _liked _Finn Av Yrsa, the feeling was fairly mutual so it seemed; he was always supportive of me and my desire to be a warrior regardless of my gender, and I knew I could always rely upon him for anything. I sighed, there were certainly _worse _dragons for me to develop feelings for.

Fighting was easy_, _philosophers might ponder if its easier to kill a person or to love them, for me at least, the former was far easier than the courage I could muster in seconds to fight a dragon took much longer to rally in order for me to leave my quarters, walk through the fortress and knock on the door to Finn's bedchambers.  
>Finn was certainly surprised to see my flustered, weary self at his door. "Oh my, hello your majesty. Please, come in." He stepped aside with a bow, inviting into his chambers. The room was extremely well organised (far better than my own I must confess), he kept a large number of books, scrolls and stone tablets kept neatly assorted on strong, study wooden shelves. There was a small desk, pushed up against the shuttered window, upon which was a number of charters and scrolls detailing the finances of the castle, there was also a small strongbox containing his modest wealth and a wooden plate which what was left of his dinner; on the wall nearby was a wooden board nailed into the stone wall, where he kept his keys around the castle, held securly together with an iron keyring. In the other end of the room, a small fireplace burned, bathing the room in a warm, flickering glow.<p>

It was at this point when my eyes truly started to analyse the dragon I wanted so desperately to speak to: He dressed very handsomely, and kept himself as tidy as he kept his chambers: He wore a simple green tunic under a thick cloak, made from the fur of a bear; he liked his baubles so it seemed; a small, golden amulet, baring his liege's seal, hung around his neck (the odd specs of wax showed he often used it to seal offical documents), and on his left forepaw was a coiled, silver ring, which featured a number of notches to the precious metal's edges, where pieces had been removed to pay for goods and services. He was indeed an attractive male in his dress, though I, by this point, wouldn't have cared if he had the face of a mule, the arse of a cow and the rags of a starving peasant.

"First of all..." I spoke, my tone struggling to maintain any real authoritative feeling I was going for: "I don't want you calling me by a title. No 'your majesty' or 'my liege' or anything like that, and no bowing!"  
>He looked at me, confused: "Very well... Danthe." He responded. "Is, is this about before? I'm, I'm very sorry, I was far too forward in my advances to you."<br>I scoffed: "You're sorry? Who kissed who?" I walked over towards him, shutting the door behind me: "...I couldn't stop thinking of you after it happened. Gods be dammed, if I was to develop feelings for a dragon, why did it have to be now?" I bit my lip: "Curse it all... I'm scared, Finn, but it's not the armies marching on my castle which scare me." I sat on my haunches, only for the pointy ends of my leg plates to jab into my skin once more. That was the final straw, I jumped up and shouted aloud: "Damn this fucking armour!" I didn't need it causing me more stress; in a flustered rage, I reached for the leather straps and metal buckles, pulling furiously to try to remove the plating, to little avail. Finn, seeing this, decided to act:  
>"here, Danthe, let me help you." I slowed up, as the steward bent down to my front legs, his head was far clearer than mine on most days, and he had little trouble undoing the straps where my rushed efforts failed. It took a while, but he eventually undressed me from my armour, which lay on the ground in a pile, leaving my draconic form ungarbed: It was the first time in years I'd seen myself without unflattering fur and iron piled upon me; it was the first time Finn had seen me this way as well, and it showed.<br>"Erm..." He attempted to speak: "Perhaps, perhaps you should see the blacksmith... And, well, get some better fitting armour. This all looks like it was made for a male."  
>"It was brother's..." I explained: "My father would never make armour for me, and my brother never used it, so he had no quams to me taking it when I left. The poor fool..." I sighed: "The body shaped to the suit, rather than the suit to the body. It's been so long since I've felt things a dragoness should feel... And then, you came along." I looked away, I was struggling to maintain any resemblence of compsure as I continued to pour myself out to a quietly listening Finn: "...I, I want to feel like a <em>dragoness<em> again. Just once, but... on _my _terms. I chose to be a warrior, but I can't supress my instincts anymore..." I turned to him. "Please tell me you feel something too, and I've not just utterly humilitated us both."  
>Finn looked at me, I loved him, it was painfully clear to me now, and it was equallly clear to see. Slowly, he approached me, his big, green eyes never leaving mine. "...You're, you're brilliant. You're brave, strong, smart and beautiful... I'm just a steward, am I really good enough?"<br>I scoffed, emotions running high: "If you're not 'good enough' than who is? I don't _want _anyone else. I ran away from my family and my home to that end. I want _you_. Nobody else." He smiled at the proespect, I noticed he was shaking slightly; my heat had kicked in, and I was in too deep to want to turn back now: "...Are you cold? I'm pretty cold too." I leaned in and kissed his cheek again, this time knowing full well what I was doing, and the commitment I intended to make; Finn made no attempt to pull back or flinch either, from what I could gather, deep down, he was enjoying it! "...It's such a shame we have to be so cold, when there's such a warm bed just over there."  
>Finn and I were very close together now, his gut had finally abandoned attempting to be chaste in the matter on account of rank or titles, and he had nuzzled me with his snout: "I've always had the luxery of a large and comfortable bed." He explained: "But never a fine dragoness to share it with."<br>"Nor a mate to comfort you?" I murmered, to which he nodded slightly, even now, he was worried about pushing his limits.  
>"Are, are you really sure about this?" He asked: "You, you know there's no going back from this, right?"<br>Unbeknownst to him, in this room, on this night, between the two of us, there weren't any limits to speak of as far as I was concerned: A primal instinct wanted to get me and him into that bed as soon as possible.  
>"I know what this means." I spoke: "...I know what will happen if I mate with you. But I don't care, I want you to be <em>more<em> than just my steward. I love you."  
>The smile on Finn's face grew wide, and he held me tightly: "I, I love you, I always have... Let us get into that warm, comfortable bed. I can't let my mate freeze now, can I?"<p>

**A night of passion ensued, and Finn showed a side to him I honestly never expected, he gave as good as he got, to the enjoyment of us both.  
>However, that night was far more important than mere sex. For one, dragons of my time had a very simple relationship between sex and marriage: a mated couple was a married couple. Once a dragon and a dragoness had decided to mate, that was considered a marriage enough in the eyes of many; parenthood often followed, once a dragoness decided to mate, there was nothing which could stop that from happening.<br>However, all of this was a decision I chose to make, and judging from Finn's... Eagerness, he had weighed up the choice in his mind and came to a conclusion which I was certainly happy for: He could certainly do far worse than a landed dragoness who he regarded as 'brave, strong, smart and beautiful'.  
><strong>  
>Finn was actually the first to wake as sunlight pierced through the shutters and into the room. The fire had burned out and the room was beginning to become cold again. I woke as he climbed out of bed, leaving the blankets for me. I watched him walk over to a pile of wood and set up a pile of wood in the fireplace to burn. He smiled as he clocked that I was awake and watching him.<br>"Good morning, my queen." He spoke with a smile: "I do hope you slept well. I fear my bed might not be as comfortable to that which you are used to."  
>I snorted: "I didn't mind about that, I cared only for the company I shared..."<br>"I'm glad I could be pleasing company for you." He replied, his face thoughtful: "...Danthe, have you considered what we do from here? I mean, we both know what the implications of our night together will have."  
>I sighed, nodding: I'm not a fool. I knew things were going to change before you mounted me. There is no other dragon I'd want to spend the rest of my life with." I mused: "I know I needed to have children one day. With the death of my family, me and Helga are the only ones who can continue my dynasty, and... Chances are, one of us will be dead soon." Finn padded over to me and climbed back into bed, holding me, his warm body was comforting: "...I'm, I'm a bit scared of becoming a mother. But I'm not a little girl anymore, I'll be in my 30s soon, and if I don't pass down my bloodline, I never will. But.." I kissed his lips and propped myself against him: "There is nobody in the world who I think would make a better father for my children than you." I smiled slightly, though I had more worries in my head.<br>"I see... Do you want me to keep quiet about it for now, or are we going to be public about this?" He asked. I gave it some thought, and my answer came fairly quickly after.  
>"I, I would like the world to know. I'm proud to be betrothed to you as mates. I'll make an annoucement to court when I can, and perhaps we can have a proper ceremony once this war is over." I sighed: "...But, one thing. I don't want to just become another broodmother, huddled away in a bedchamber looking after eggs for the rest of my life. I'm open to being a mother, but, must I really give up being what I am, just to become what I <em>should be<em>?"  
>On that note, Finn gave me a comforting squeeze with his wings: "Danthe, my love, I didn't fall in love with a broodmother. I fell in love with the great warrior queen of the north. That's you. Even if we have to look after eggs and babies, you'll <em>always <em>be_ my _queen of the north.I know, deep in my heat, we'll make this work. You can be the great warrior, the great queen, and the great mother, all in one for history to marval at for centuries to come. And as for me, I'll be there for you every step of the way."

**Of course, me and Finn were talking as though there was a possibility I **_**wouldn't **_**be pregnant. Deep down, even then, I knew I would be soon: I was in heat, I'd mated a young and fertile dragon, we both knew, deep down, what was going to happen. In hindsight, it wasn't a very good plan of action, I should've waited, for now I'd have to fight my sister with a child growing inside of me...**

We'd talked about it, and Finn of course understood that there was no time for any proper ceremonies to celebrate our relationship. Jotun's armies were being seen advancing closer and closer to the Freezer with each day; their great numbers and their lack of discipline were the only things currently slowing them down, and giving us precious time to build a solid defense to greet them with.

It seems my confrontation with Florus had finally tame him, and doused his hubris flare. He never seemed to boast anymore, as though he was afraid of incurring my wrath again. He'd made good progress with the ballistas, which were being moved up to the battlements; however, he had more to offer our men, and now turned his hand to speaking to the marshal about Roman tactics. Now, he wasn't a military commander, he was a builder; however, he had see and read enough about his homeland's army to know far more of their tactics than any of us did. It was fascinating, watching my bipedal soldiers in such tight formations, wielding large shields held so closely together it practically formed a wall, I'd simply never seen my warriors hold such discipline. Even the marshal himself seemed surprised at first, as though he'd never seen soldiers march in formation or use their shields in such a manner; it seemed Florus' old promise came true: It had cost him his pride, but he'd managed to bring Roman war tactics to so-called 'pagan savages'. Jotun wouldn't know what hit him!

There was actually a reason I was in the courtyard of the fortress however. For one, my marshal had informed me that the Black Band had finally arrived from Trondelag; the other being that Finn had asked to see me at the castle's armourer; meeting with Finn first would allow me to bag two birds with one stone in the long run.  
>He greeted me with a smile and a kiss: "Hello my darling queen." Finn spoke in relative seclusion: "I have a gift for you."<br>He lead me towards the blacksmith's shop within the courtyard: "I saw you struggle with your brother's armour last night, and that simply wouldn't do." He presented me with an armoured manikin and a pair of female servants. "As such, I comissioned the smith to make you armour and a cloak which will actually fit." He smiled: "They may even go to compliment your warrior queen beauty as well!"  
>It was a fairly small set of armour, hardly even covering my entire body, but it was light, featuring iron bracers along my forelegs and tail; the suit also featured a long, thick black cloak, fastened to the body with a cyan silk ribbon, buckled with a seal baring the iron crown and my new colours.<br>My gratitude for the gift was suddenly offset by my worry about Finn; he was no fighter, and I knew that if he tried, Jotun's army would kill him...  
>"Finn, I don't want you fighting in this war." I told him: "I want you to remain in the castle, with the courtiers and keep yourself safe while my soldiers, the Black Band and I lead the defense of the Freezer."<br>Finn's smile quickly dropped: "So you're going to put your life on the line, and possibly the life of our child on the line, but I have to cower in the castle like a coward?"  
>"Yes, I do." I snapped: "I'm your queen, and you'll do as I say... They'll kill you otherwise. And I couldn't live with that."<br>Finn sighed, setting a paw on my shoulder: "Let me help you, please. We can sort this out, together."  
>I felt myself welling up inside, I didn't want to refuse him, but I had no choice; I flattened my brow and put on hard face, pushing his paw away: "No." I spoke: "I'm sorry. You'll stay in the castle where you're safe. Disobey me, and I'll have my guards put you under house arrrest. I won't let you put yourself in danger." I sighed: "But, thank you for the armour. When I'm out there, I'll fight for you."<p>

Guilt plauged me as I left the armoury to meet with the captain of the Black Band: I was being such a hypocrite, the whole reason I'd even ran away when I was young was because I wasn't being allowed to fight, now I was preventing my own lover from getting involved in a good fight. It was for his own safety though! I didn't do it to be mean or controlling, I did it because I loved him...  
>Another twinge of guilt, I had to remember that, like me right now, the only reason Father ever stopped me from fighting was for my own protection. My memories of him were far too harsh.<p>

**The Black Band was lead by a man known only as The Ice King; he was huge as humans go and was even more intimidating than his mercenaries. He didn't talk much, but a simple exchange of payment and it was done: The Freezer had a contract with them, I owned him, and his men, and each and every one of them would fight to the death for me for as long as they lived; if the Ice King was anything to go by, death wasn't **_**necceserily**_** a valid reason for any of them to break their contract either...**

**Eventually, the day came, and Jotun's men could be seen from the battlements. Their came was far from the walls, out of the range of the archers, but it appeared that Jotun had neglected to bring proper seige engines such as catapults: If they were going to break into the Freezer, they'd be doing it the old fashioned way.**

My blood boiled, I was ready for a fight if Jotun's hoarde dared to siege the castle! However, my spymaster advised we send out shadow dragons or spies to scout the enemy camp before we launch any kind of attack. In hindsight, that would've been a wise move, but my hubris got in the way: I saw a small, dirty camp of poorly trained, poorly armed savages who wanted to kill me and take my castle; they had quite the nerve, my castle blacksmith could shit better iron than the weapons they carried! I should've been more careful however, as I knew Winter would be coming soon, making the land even less hospitible than before, and both us only had a finite supply of food and funding for our men. On some days, I could actually _see_ a dragon who couldn't be anything other than Jotun, a huge, scarred blue dragon coated in blue warpaint across his face and body, sitting in his camp, staring right at me.  
>His presence incensed me, he just kept staring, almost mockingly, provoking me: I hated him the second I laid eyes on him. The siege of the Freezer had been going on for days now, and Jotun's army seemed small and poorly prepared; nothing was going to stop me from attacking them, this was the right moment! I rallied my reluctant marshal and my soldiers, laying bare my plans to attack the camp and destroy Jotun's army in its entirity.<br>"Your majesty." The marshal protested: "Please, let's not act in haste here. We should spend some time to spy on the enemy camp before we launch our attack. We don't know the full picture of who we're up against yet."  
>"Just look over the walls!" I barked: "You can see what forces they have, and we can take them! We just need to use the advantages we have, at the right moments."<br>"This **is **the right moment!" I cried: "We can't let them build up their strength any longer, lest they become able to take the castle! Now, give the order, I want our men to begin the assault against the besiegers this moment!"  
>"Danthe, please!" Finn shouted in ernest. He sighed, he knew it was hopeless, my mind was set and nothing was going to change it.<br>"Very well..." The marshal gave in: "Finn, make sure the ballistas are ready, but keep them out of sight. They're our secret weapon." Finn nodded. "Alright your majesty. I'm with you."

What few fire dragons we had would fly out first to bombard the camp with fireballs and flames to stirr panic and disorder through Jotun's ranks; then, the ice dragons would follow to put out the fires and kill more of the soldiers, making it safer for me and my army to march in and put them all to the sword.  
>I lead from the front, I was a fast flier, and I wanted to be the first to draw blood against my foe, I would revel in cracking Jotun's skull for helping Helga slaughter my family!<br>My army marched forward in a solid wall of shields, their march was slow, but consistant; when the besiegers charged in defense of their camp, the wall pushed them back. I swooped down and bathed them all in icy breath, where a frozen mist enveloped them all, making the marching advance all the easier!  
>The survivors fell back and fled to their camp to find it burning as ten different fire dragons set it ablaze! I landed, a smug smirk on my face as my men joined me at my back. This siege had been easy! Jotun's men were a pushover!<br>...And yet, Jotun himself was nowhere to be found. His tent, or what was left of it, was the largest one there, but there wasn't even any plans or parchments or anything; there wasn't even any sign the bed had been used! All there was in the tent was a table: Upon the table was a bloody knife embedded into a painting of my new sigil, and a single, solitary scrap of parchment. My pride quickly turned to worry as I picked it up. All there was on the parchment was a single, solitary phrase, written in red, still dripping and warm as I lifted up the parchment to read:** Foolish girl**.

**End of Act One**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<br>**

**Thank you for reading this, my first submission onto FF.N. While it's not the first piece of fanfiction work I've ever done on the Internet, it's my first foothold on FF.N fanfiction, although this can also be found on DeviantART, which is currently where I upload my work first.**

**Credit goes to SighriaDragoness12 on DeviantART for the fiction's preview image, the original of which can be found here: art/CM-Frozen-Mistress-476795259  
><strong>

**Thanks should also go out to the FF.N member Almaron, who has been providing extensive and extremely helpful assistance in coming up with a ton of the lore and ideas behind this fic, as well as pre-reading it many times. Thanks! You were an awesome help!**


	2. Act Two: Vengeance

**My stomach went into a knot as it dawned on me: I had made a grave and terrible mistake. Outside the tent, I heard the thunderous sound of countless men charging and a swarm of dragonwings beating towards us from all angles! This was a trap, and I'd marched my army right into it!**

"Fall back!" I screamed: "Fall back! To the Freezer! Come on!"  
>Jotun's men were suddenly everywhere, moving to encircle the entire army, which had begun a panicked attempt to retreat to the Freezer; the dragons had it easiest, a few bipeds jumped onto their backs as they took off and tried to outfly draconic pursuers, while wingless bipeds hid under their shields as they scuttled away. It was too late to prevent a slaughter of our men though: Jotun's army was too strong and too numerous!<br>As I too made my way out of the camp at a running pace, I skidded to a halt as a huge, blue dragon landed with a boom before me: Jotun the Perisher, chief of the Jotun Horde and King of Jarnhud.**  
><strong>  
>Jotun was a huge, scarred creature; his body was coated in a thick layer of blue war paint, which was as liberally splattered across his ugly, wrinkled and torn up face as the blood of his defeated foes, of which there were many from this ill-fated fight. His dark green eyes were centred upon me, brimming with hatred, anger, violence and lust for blood and many things besides.<br>"Danthe Jarnhud..." He spoke, a satisfied tone riding across his gravelly, heavily accented voice; the rest of the battle seemed to melt away as our eyes locked upon each other, the fighting was a blur, the sound a distant haze. He approached slowly, the cragged details of the warlord's form becoming clearer with each step: What talons he had left on his paws bore jagged, dirty claws; his fangs where yellow and crooked; the right horn had been torn from his head a long time ago, and the remaining left was cracked and broken, nearly every inch of him was covered in dirt, snow, war paint or blood: I had no idea what on Earth Helga could have possibly seenin him that stole her heart.  
>"Bloodthirsty cur." I growled, to which he laughed: "You kill me and my men, our spirits will have their vengeance."<br>"Then we shall drink and fight for eternity in Valhalla when the time comes... But not you... I have something special planned for you."  
>I lunged at him, if I could kill him, I could cut off the head of Helga's army right now! Claws outstretched and ready to dig into his flesh, my plan came to no avail as he dodged and calmly shoved me back! Pain surged through me as I tumbled to the floor, his block made me feel like I'd flown into a wall. Jotun smiled evilly as he waited for me to climb to my feet, before charging and shoving me to the floor once again. From there I opened my mouth with a roar and bathed him in frost, which he barely managed to block with his wings! I lunged at his leg, sinking my fangs into the skin, causing him to roar aloud, flying into the air to shake me off as I clawed and scratched at his sides, nicking the side of his neck with my talons, leaving three deep, bloody gashes! I tore his leg open as he broke free of my grip and send me plummeting into the ground with a thud! From there, he hovered, laughing at my efforts: Gods damn him, he was so strong!<br>"Foolish girl." He purred: "I'm going to enjoy _breaking_ _you_ once this war is over..." I struggled to stand, my body was bruised, cut and sore all over, my legs were in agony, but nothing appeared to be broken. "...Many people just like you have tried to best me, but they all perish before my might..."  
>Sounds all around were a blur, but I could hear some things which caught my attention. My men, they were still fighting as they retreated; some of them had seen my fight.<br>"Defend the queen! We must protect our Queen in the North!" I heard a cry from somewhere in the distance. I looked, a detachment of dragons and men charged to my aid, drawing bows and swords to try to fell the brutal Perisher! They fired their arrows, which hit their mark and buried into his chest, making him cry out in pain and turn on them! He clenched his forepaws into fists, channelling some deep inside power; the snow began to pick up from the ground, swirling around his hovering body like a whirlwind! They clumped together into larger and larger snowballs, hardening like ice and spinning faster and faster! Then, they explored, sending sharp shards of ice and dragonfrost in all directions. I leapt out of the way just in time to escape death, but my men froze in their places and crumbled as if they too were made of ice and struck with a hammer! The blizzard clear, leaving a maniacal Jotun watching the aftermath of his destruction.  
>"I suggest you bow down and submit to me, Danthe Jarnhud!" He bellowed: "Submit to me and surrender yourself! You shall be mi-"<p>

He never finished that sentence, as there was a whoosh, and I suddenly found him on the floor, shouting out in pain: His wings were pinned to the ground via a great burning bolt which had pierced them both with perfect timing! I looked up, the ballistas! Finn had done it and launched them, darkening the skies with a barrage of heavy siege! I wasted not a second of the time this miracle had given me: I clambered to my paws and bolted, retreating back to the Freezer with my surviving army, our numbers greatly fewer than before...

**What a blow, oh, what a humiliation! The ballistas and sheer luck had spared our lives and beaten Jotun's army back so that we could lick our wounds. Jotun the Perisher had played his best hand, and played it well. He'd made me look like a fool!  
>No... No he didn't. He didn't have to. I did that perfectly well, all by myself...<strong>

As soon as the smoke cleared, I retreated to my quarters before anyone could stop me. I didn't even stop to listen to Finn or anyone else calling after me; I didn't even care to have my injuries seen to, I just had to be alone!  
>Locking my door, I flew into a tearful rage. I couldn't help myself as I banged my forepaws against a wall, screaming aloud:<br>"Damn it all!" I cried: "Gods strike me down, I'm so stupid! Why, why why why did I let him get in my head!?"  
>I slumped onto my bed, pain searing through my ankle as I crumpled onto the bedspread. With my good paw and a moan, I tried to wipe the wet from my eyes in vain, but no, I was crying, and it wouldn't stop: This was my fault, <em>entirely<em> my fault! I didn't care about the pain, I was angry and guilt-ridden, I should've listened to my marshal and taken greater care to get the full picture before I attacked Jotun's men; now, because of my foolishness, many of my own men were dead, and I myself barely escaped with my life.

There was a knocking on the doors to my chambers:  
>"Danthe." I heard Finn's voice call: "Danthe, please, let me in."<br>I sighed, steeling myself and drying my eyes before allowing him entry. He bowed his head to me before entering, he was putting on a brave face. "I'm sorry Danthe." He began speaking as he sat by the fire, never taking his eyes off me: "I just had to see if you were okay? Are you hurt?"  
>I sighed: "No more than I deserve." Was my answer: "I'll live... I shouldn't have though, I got far luckier than I had any right to be."<br>"Don't say that." Finn spoke softly, moving in to hug me.  
>"It's true. It was through my stupidity that I fell into Jotun's trap. I could've killed myself, and our child." I shuddered, I felt sick to my stomach.<br>"But you didn't, and the men who did die are in a better place." My beloved Finn comforted: "Valhalla for the Norse, and for our brethren, they live on forever among us as spirits. Do not weep my darling queen, they fell through such honourable means. Their passing will hurt, but a dragon never truly dies."  
>"I think I'll have a hard time believing that after I tour the graves of our dead. Not to mention the how many dragons were mutilated by our ballistas." I took a breath, blinking hard to supress my emotions: "Promise me, the next time I ever do anything as rash as this disaster again, remind me of <em>this<em> moment."

**So, there it was: My darkest hour. Jotun may not have defeated us yet, but he'd trapped and ensnared us within The Freezer. Jotun wasn't stupid, he'd seen the strength of our defence; a few skirmishers attempted to fly over the walls, only to be impaled through the chest with the bolts of well-aimed ballistas.**

Stalemate: We couldn't launch a counter-attack to break the siege, but Jotun's horde couldn't break through the walls, and so a whole year passed in hardship for both sides, as attrition begun to bite, and both sides wondered and worried about who would break first; to make matters even more difficult, I was indeed pregnant, and had been so for an entire year now, everyone could see it for themselves, it wasn't a good time to be pregnant, and I could feel it every second of every day... We needed a miracle.

Fish, again we were eating fish. The fish were getting smaller and smaller with each passing day. A year of constant siege took its toll on our pantry. We quickly ran out of the niceties early: Venison, diary, Roman wines and fruit. When we ran out of ale and beer, even the most loyal of my men began to grumble (even Finn would take a cup of ale at least three times a day to settle his nerves). Now, while we would always have snow and ice to melt and drink, even our reserves of fish and vegetables were starting to dwindle.  
>That wasn't the only thing we were running out of. My own personal army fought for more than just wealth and payment, but the <em>mercenaries<em> didn't. Our reserves of silver and gold were running low. Taxes from the peasants and the odd Viking raid would've kept the coffers healthy and Finn nice and busy, but the siege had prevented our taxes from getting to the castle, worse still, reports were coming in that Jotun's men had taken to raiding those same villages for the very taxes which would've kept us afloat! As soon as the Ice King caught wind of our debts, he quickly confronted me.  
>"You can't pay us anymore." He growled: "I heard the truth. In a few weeks, you're not going to have anything left here." I couldn't see his face under his helmet, but I sensed the man speaking to me to be a very smug individual: "...So, I'm going to offer you a choice." He spoke: "I want everything. Every last piece of your gold, silver, all of your treasure. Then, we'll leave, and we won't simply come back under Jotun's banners and destroy you."<br>I scowled: "You'll strip me bare of everything I own. Have you no honour?"  
>The Ice King laughed: "It's not about honour. It's just good business. You're dead already. If the Horde doesn't slaughter you, you're going to starve to death here. I'm not going to sit around and let my minions rot with you..." He smirked: "Unless, well, unless you can offer me something else?" He eyed me up, and I reeled in disgust!<br>"Finn, take this man to the treasury, fill his boots with as much gold and silver as he and his men can carry. Then, dear 'Ice King', I want you to leave, before I have you burned alive!"  
>"With pleasure, your majesty." Finn nodded, his face crumpled into a scowl...<p>

**And so, we lost the Black band. The Ice King took our gold, our silver, and his dead, who were thrown haphazardly onto the back of a cart, along with the corpses of those we couldn't bury or burn. Our number had declined to a little more than a few thousand. In a way, it was actually good news: They'd no longer be eating our food, and my own men were unsettled by them, their passing would help to relieve their nerves, if only slightly.**  
><strong><br>It did nothing to calm **_**my **_**nerves however. The Black Band were scum, and the Ice King was a vile, nasty snake of a man, but we **_**needed**_** soldiers. Marshal Gauti was right from the start: We needed our men more than Jotun needed his. If I could just get a chance, one chance, to fix things and save my people, I would make Marshal Gauti a lord and give him a **_**hundred**_** concubines and all the gold he could ever need so he could die with a smile on his face, rather than by my own**_** stupidity**_**.**

**However, it seems the Gods were indeed willing to offer me that chance, though I didn't know it yet. To the West, my Abelburben neighbours had finally grown confident in their new queen, Queen Isete, leading them to war after the death of the great Queen Abela, nearly twenty years ago in 817. Abela had defeated King Baresjel of House Horn in the War for Hornholm many years before, cutting off the defeated dragon's horns, leaving him to replace them with antlers, becoming mockingly known as the 'King of the Stags', a name he would later take and hold with pride. **

**But this isn't Baresjel, King of the Stags' story: It's** _**mine**_**. And soon, Isete would play a crucial role in said story; for now, her gaze was focused squarely on the east, where she saw the foreign invaders from Holmgardr, and with that, an opportunity...**

One night, the stocks of food dwindled even further, and some soldiers begun to suggest we begin to kill the horses, cats and dogs so we could last a few more months. I was truly desperate. The moon was full and bright in the sky, which was clear and lined with stars. Once again, I found myself atop the battlements; the battlements were where I would go now to sit quietly to myself and think. I sighed, whatever would my father say if he was alive to see what a cruel, bloody mess our family had collapsed into.  
>The only others who were up here on the wall with me were night guards, bowmen mostly, keeping a careful eye on the camps which lined the horizon in the distance. I wondered to myself what would happen if I simply gave up; if I walked out of the castle, into Jotun's camp and surrendered. Would he spare the denizens of the Freezer? It wasn't just guards and courtiers here, no, countless peasants from the surrounding villages and farms had come seeking protection inside. What would he do with <em>me<em>? Would he kill me? Perhaps bend me down and have his way with me? What would be worse: Living the rest of my life as a defeated concubine, or dying as a queen?

My thoughts were suddenly disturbed, as a bowman ran to me from another part of the battlements, his face in surprise and confusion, but strangely, lacking the fear I expected him to carry:  
>"My queen! My queen!" He cried: "Come quickly! Please come with me! You have to see this!"<br>"Slow down, archer!" I commanded: "What is it you want me to see?!"  
>"The northern battlements, you're majesty! Along the coast! ...There's, there's a ship! A longboat!" He clutched his chest as the human attempted to catch his breath: "It... It had the Abelburben colours, you're majesty."<p>

This new matter couldn't be ignored, it potentially could change everything, either putting me in the ground early, or perhaps something else, something better; whatever lay in store, if the _Abelburbens _were getting involved, this changed the game entirely!  
>It was midnight, the ship which approached was clearly decked out in Royal Blue and White, a triband military banner of blue, white and blue again flew from the top of their mast: the colours and the arms of their house. What sparked my curiosity was its size, it was a huge ship, but it was unarmed, having only one smaller ship as an escort. That grand ship was beautifully sculpted, far more than you'd expect of a warship. Then, our archers saw the ships come to a halt, pitching up among the ice, for our own castle docks were in ruins after the siege; a rowboat landed in the cold waters; rowing towards the shore. Aboard it was the rower, a muscular argonian sailor, clad in furs and the Abelburben colours. However, the person who really mattered on that little boat was the passenger, a beautiful young ice dragoness, I knew in my heart who she was the second I laid eyes upon here: Queen Isete of House Abelburben.<p>

She dressed in a manner to which I was very unaccustomed: Of course, she wore furs and a cloak to withstand the cold (she wore more of them than I did!), but underneath was no armour to speak of! No, she wore a _dress_, a long, flowing, red silk dress, trimmed with gold and intricately stitched patterns and embroidery. The Abelburbens were rich, having far more wealth and connections than the Jarnhuds ever had; however, I would be a fool to assume that, just because she wore a dress, she was weak. No, she was here for a reason, and that's why the queen was now here, sitting in my dining hall with me and my council.  
>Even if nothing was to come of her visit, she was a godsend, for she was kind, and she was generous: Upon being granted entry to castle via the northern gates (where the Horde had no siege, for they had almost no boats to speak of!), her crew brought food. It wasn't a lot, just whatever they had in the pantries of the ships that they'd brought, but oh, merciful gods! Food! Food we'd never even seen before! Grapes, olives, grains, and pigs! Oh gods, fat, juicy pigs! Imported from the Mediterranean, York and Britannia, even the Southern European dragons in the fledgling realm known as Avalar. It would never be enough to feed everyone, and much to my (brief) annoyance, Isete seemed interested only in feeding herself, and my council.<p>

"What do I want?" Isete spoke when I pitched her the question over the dim flickering lights of candles, the smell of roasting pork still hanging in my nose.  
>"Yes." I nodded: "Your gesture, Queen Isete, was kind, very kind. But why? Why extend such charity to us?"<br>"Simple." The Abelburben remarked: "You're my fellow countryman. So-called 'King' Jotun is a foreign barbarian who wants to lay my land to siege."  
>"<em>Our<em> lands." I corrected: "We rule our own kingdoms."  
>Isete nodded "Of course, of course..." She spoke silently, before taking a sip of her wine: "But you are in quite a difficult position, aren't you?" I nodded as Isete watched my reaction, picking at her food with a fork. "Well, my family is sick of eternally fighting with our neighbours. We would work better together, the Horns, the Jarnhuds and ourselves." She frowned: "I can make no such friendship with Jotun the Perisher, however." Isete continued to explain: "He's a beyond redemption, a violent war-mongering barbarian, he's not what these realms need, and certainly not who <em>I <em>need."  
>"Then what do you need? You didn't explain what exactly you want."<br>"Isn't it obvious to you yet?" Isete queried: "I need _you_. Your house is the last piece of the puzzle. I want you to join me. I need brave, clever people like you, and it would be no good for anyone if we had to continue being enemies."  
>I scoffed: "Right now, whether we were allies or enemies, you're just as trapped as we are. Or did you not notice the siege blockading this castle? Jotun's men <em>will <em>know you sailed your ships up here. He'll revel at the chance to defeat and break _two _dragon queens."  
>Isete smirked, taking a sip of wine: "Let him try. I know what games he likes to play. He seems to want to provide a realm for dragons, much like us. But he's violent, dangerous, and he's incredibly proud. His hubris will lead him to believe he has the upper hand, a golden opportunity perhaps, far too good to resist. He'll think himself extremely fortunate, and extremely clever, for a time..." I frowned, suddenly becoming very nervous in the presence of this dragoness at the other end of my table. Suddenly, I heard faint screaming, to which a smirk grew on Isete's face. "...Perhaps we should go to the battlements? I believe there should be quite the show for us now."<p>

From the battlements, everything became clear. My archers were in a state of surprise and a tired but frantic excitement, pulling together a defence to fight the invading army of Jotun's horde; however, the horde had other problems: As Isete promised, they'd mounted an invasion of the castle, but now they had new problems, for Isete's forces had attacked from behind, trapping Jotun's men between the walls of my castle, and a vast shield wall of Isete's, spanning for miles and moving in to crush the horde in a brutal trap! They were being slaughtered! All of them! Crushed and killed like insects under a boot! It was a miracle! From the far edge of the battle, I could see a scarred blue dragon fleeing, it was Jotun! Jotun was abandoning his men to their doom! The coward!  
>"The simple matter is this. I'm sorry, Queen Danthe, but right now, your bargaining position is weak." Isete spoke, watching the battle unfold, but never staying from her reason to be there; she knew she was safe atop the battlements, Jotun's men would never reach them. "It's not entirely your fault, the gods were not as kind to you in this war against the Horde as they perhaps should have been. But now, you're best choice is to side with me. I'd love to have you be a part of my new kingdom, for I know the value of a strong dragoness, and a strong leader." She finished her goblet, setting it down upon the table: "This is not the full army of Jotun's horde, do you think an army which could terrorise innocent people from Yorvik to Rus would be this small? But worry not, I shall best them at their own game. As soon as the Horde has been shattered, the sun will either rise over a victorious, united defence, or a renewed siege, one you could never defeat. Not with your starving, weakened, demoralised men."<br>"So" I sighed: "You would have me bend my neck and bow to you? You'd take my land when I can't defend it myself?"  
>"Oh, heavens no." She protested: "I don't wish to take your land from you. You are a queen, the 'Queen in the North' as your people so proudly call you. You may still be their queen in the north, and you may still rule your lands, but, I want you to swear fealty to me. And together, we shall put down Jotun the Perisher, and Queen Helga the Kinslayer once and for all."<p>

**I couldn't deny it, Queen Isete was far cleverer than I had first expected: The very act of her entering my castle had completely altered the balance of power, ultimately in her favour. She had everybody, myself included, right where she wanted them. Jotun's sieging soldiers would be trapped between the ballistas and bowmen of my castle, and the tightening noose of Isete's army who would come from behind and destroy them all. This also conveniently put a collar of cohesion around my own throat: if I refused Isete, it would be **_**her **_**soldiers sieging me down, with my own army too weak, exhausted and starved to fight back. She played the game, and she was winning!**

The choice to me was clear: Isete was offering me a lot to join her, and right now, I didn't have much of a choice. I needed her support; my men were starving, my peasants were in danger, and the battle against Jotun may have been won, but I was in no doubt that he'd be back: He and Helga still controlled Castle Jarnhud, and had a base to retreat to in order to lick their wounds. So I bowed, and swore fealty to the now High Queen Isete; she'd achieved her goal, and unified the great draconic houses of Scandinavia, and forged their three kingdoms into one: A kingdom where the strong would protect the weak, and a just light would shine through cruel and unjust shade:

_**Sekeolath**_**.**

Isete was High Queen, but in our agreement, I was allowed to continue to be called the Queen in the North, and rule my own realm much as I had before. I would fly Sekeolath's colours alongside my own, and would be obligated to be loyal and supportive my new liege, but within the Jarnhud Kingdom, I had relatively free reign. Isete also made me her marshal that night, I would be the one who would lead her armies, and fight her battles for her. With the Freezer finally freed from its siege, we could take the fight to Jotun and Helga; there was just

_**one **_**problem: I was still pregnant, heavily so.**

And so, came vengeance, my chance to make Jotun and Helga pay for what they did to my family. I felt my blood boil in my veins, I couldn't wait to spill that bastard's blood. However, caution had temper my rage, I was carrying a child inside me, so I had to be careful: I was fighting for two here!  
>My carriage shuddered as it struck a stone in the trail path, throwing me about somewhat. I hated sitting about in a box as horses pulled me along; I should be outside, marching with my men! But no, my own marshal was adamant about it, I needed to rest myself, deep down, I knew it too; it had gotten to the point where lying down was almost impossible to do comfortably, and the additional weight in my belly made even simple moves much more difficult and cumbersome. Worst of all was the loneliness: I missed Finn, my dear, sweet husband, who I'd expressly forbid to leave the castle. I cursed, he argued, nay, begged me to reconsider, which lead only to me growing more flustered and more tempered, to the point where I threatened to freeze his feet in ice and lock him in his chambers for the remainder of the war if he did otherwise. I steeled myself. I had to fight, I must fight, it's in my blood; but now I had two very important reasons I had to stay alive, I couldn't let Jotun, Helga or her army kill me in this coming battle: I had to live for my child, growing within an egg and nearly ready to enter the world, and I had to live in order to see Finn again; the last dragon I left on bad terms with was my father, and I'd never see him again, I could never say sorry for hurting our family so.<p>

I'm not a particularly spiritual dragon. I don't often pray to gods, or the ancestors. The patron deity of our house was Ro'Denthanus, the draconic god of the element of Fear, but also of family, and was the equivalent to the Norse god Odin; for me however, my time at the Freezer compelled me to begin to worship Ro'Gul, the God of Ice, instead. Was this why my sister betrayed us, and killed my family? Did the gods have ties into this? It grew late, and the Sekeolasian army pitched up its war camp for the night, and a tent was quickly built for me, providing me privacy for my thoughts to haunt me. No, I couldn't shake it: I went to see the camp's ice guardian, a hardy dragon named Dolf, bringing with me an offering: Rolf's old armour, I had taken it from him a long time ago, it had kept me warm, it had kept me alive, now was the time to return it to its original owner.  
>With a warm smile, the guardian bowed, and stood aside. Standing before a candle-lit alter, I bowed my head before it, setting down the cloak and armour upon a cloth-covered table. Kneeling, I begun to speak in prayer, specifically to my family.<br>"I, I know I've not tried to speak with your spirits since... Since your passing. I suppose part of me didn't think it would make a difference. You were dead, you'd died, each and every one of you..." I choked up: "I miss you. Father, if you're there, I'm sorry I caused you such pain when I abandoned you all. I'd do anything to be able to say that to your face, but I can't, and I won't ever be able to until I die. Helga betrayed you, she betrayed all of us..." I was losing control of myself, I could feel tears brimming in my eyes and my lip quivering. "And, and now, Helga, my sister, has to die... And I have to be the one that kills her. I have to avenge your murder, but then I'll be a kinslayer too... Ro'Gul, please give me your strength so that I can do what I must do, but, my family, and mighty Ro'Denthanus, please, please forgive me. I, I don't want to be a kinslayer like her! She my sister! But I have no choice! E-even if she hadn't killed you all, she's still the wife to that monster, Jotun the Perisher!" I wiped my eyes, but that did no good as I sobbed out my plea. I felt weak at the knees as I slumped before the alter of the God of Ice. "I'll avenge you, my family. I promise..."  
>Eventually, when I'd cried myself dry, and my prayer was finished, I climbed to my feet, my chest felt heavy as I turned to leave, where the guardian stood waiting, a small, silver charm in his paw.<br>"My queen." He bowed: "Before you leave. I would like to offer you something." He handed me the charm, engraved with a holy symbol of Ro'Gul. "A blessing, from the God of Ice himself. He shall keep you safe in the coming battle."  
>"Thank you" I put on a smile as the guardian tucked the charm into my cloak: "You are too kind."<br>"Not a problem, your majesty. The gods will look kindly upon your bravery. The crime of kinslaying is one gods and men alike despise, both will praise your name for avenging your fallen kin. You are the queen, and you're a good dragon." I sighed, I wished I felt the same, it would make this quest a lot easier...

**The march down south continued. Eventually, the snows gave with to the moss and cold grasslands surrounding Castle Jarnhud; the air in my lungs, the grass under my feet, it was comforting, I grew up here, I missed the comparable warmth of this place compared to the Freezer. I couldn't enjoy the nostalgia for long however, I had a job to do.**

Oh, how the tables had turned. Isete's and my army now sat in a thick wall around the castle of my birth. How far had it fallen from grace since I saw it last: The walls, once well maintained and clean, were mossy and cracked, caked in dirt and darkened by moisture; the windows were broken, and from the standards hung tattered and torn banners: One was that of my family (though Helga no longer deserved to fly our colours), and Jotun's standard: Two white dragon skulls upon red and grey vertical fields. My family's castle had fallen into disrepair, it could've easily fended off a siege back in its heyday.

My presence at the siege was paramount. Isete and her men knew nothing of Castle Jarnhud, but I grew up there, I knew that castle, and I had a better idea of its weaknesses. This was my chance to pay Jotun back for my defeat back at the Freezer. I was going to make him bleed!  
>My plan was, complicated: A double bluff would describe it best. As far as he thought, I was a foolish little girl, but I certainly learn from my mistakes: I was going to send a small-ish army to attack, then retreat; this is not an especially legendary tactic, as humans have been using it for years. Jotun would have seen it before, and would likely move in to trap me again, but this time, I would have the bulk of my army come to entrap him in the very means he planned to entrap me! I would shatter his army with the remainder of my forces. It needed to be a swift movement to entrap his men and flood the castle, my pregnancy didn't help matters; but this was my responsibility, I couldn't allow someone else to carry this burden for me, I wouldn't! It would not be long before I had my eggs, but I couldn't wait on that, there was too much at stake.<p>

I walked through the war camp as the sun sunk under the horizon. My intent was to consult the blacksmith, not for armour, but for weapons; specifically, a pair of metal-clawed gauntlets, in case the strength of my own talons was not enough to cut through Jotun's miserable hide. My blood boiled, more so now than ever with such a tangible feeling of certain victory at hand. I would skin the vile lizard, from tail to snout, his skin would serve as a reminder as to what would happen if any other horde-leading savage sought to bring strife, murder, betrayal and death to my realm again.  
>Bipeds had their blades, their arrows and their pole arms, but a dragon had teeth, horns and claws. My teeth were fine, long and sharp like knives; my horns were long and strong, but my claws were lacking, worn short from my duties and my absence from the field.<br>The blades were fitted onto leather gloves, which slipped onto my front paws quite comfortably, though the metal was still warm to the touch, even after the metal had been cooled from its red hot state. Wiggling my toes inside the glove, I turned to dummy, seeking to test out my new weapons; I slashed quickly at the training aid, tearing its torso wide open, sending feathers and fluff flying out. A satisfied smile crossed my face: They were perfect. I paid the blacksmith for his efforts, and left, there was nothing much else I could do to prepare for the siege now, save for _one _thing.  
>Over a candle-lit desk I sat, a sheet of parchment before me and a pot of ink to my side. I sighed, and begun to write:<p>

_Darling Finn, _

_I miss you, the nights are cold without you in my bed and the days are lonely without you by my side. Still, the campaign is going well. I will begin the siege to retake Castle Jarnhud and kill Jotun very soon, by the time you are reading this, I will either be victorious, or dead. If the gods favour us, I will be back with you soon, and we can raise our children in peace. If I die, our spirits will be reunited in the afterlife... I hope._

_With love, _

_Danthe._

I froze, staring at the letter I wrote. Slowly, I lifted it up, carefully folding it up, before tying it closed and handing it to a mail carrier, who would fly back to the Freezer with my news. I had something to fight for, now all I had to do was fight.  
>The last of the lights went out in the castle as the inhabitants went to bed, now was the time for an assault, and so my army rallied to me. I hovered in the air, my wings beating against the night sky, I planned to make a speech before we attacked.<br>"My men!" I called out at the beginning of my speech: "Today, we avenge the fallen. Our fallen allies, our fallen friends, and our fallen family." I continued to hover, swaying from left to right, impassioned by my own speech. "Today, we ensure that the good and the just win, and the evil and dishonourable lose. Today, we shall push out the barbarian bastards! We will retake our land, and we will avenge the betrayed sons and daughters of House Jarnhud and put the Kinslayer to the sword! For Sekeolath, and **For the Kingdom of Jarnhud!**"

The great mass of soldiers roared and shouted their cries of battle and it was not long before they were charging in a vast, shielded wall, we launched ourselves into the offensive! I lead from the front, flying high in the air with my marshal leading the right flank and one of Isete's champions on the left; the lights in the castle quickly lit again in a panicked response to the attack, but my hubris wouldn't best me this time, I knew this would be just a ruse to lull me into complacency! Ahead of me, I saw the mustering of Castle Jarnhud's defence; dragons taking to the skies, archers reading their bows and countless infantry spilling from the gates! I turned skyward, taking my fellow dragons and soaring higher than the archers could fly their arrows; they could only fire so high, but the riders on the dragons' backs and the ice and fire in our mouths could be fired down with infinite ease. And so it was, we rained down arrows, ice and fire down upon the battlements and the field, swooping down with the speed of a god-sent wind! My mind was focused on every aspect of the skies, for I knew dragons would be coming to intercept us soon, but I couldn't resist watching the battle from down below me; the trap had sprung on both sides, the innermost army of the Horde had begun to retreat, leaving the majority of Jotun's men trapped between the two armies of the Sekeolasians!

I felt a lump charge me in my upper torso, knocking me back! A brief flare of panic flashed in my head, if I was to fall from this height, I would die, the Archers or the dragons would catch me, and if they didn't, the landing would break me like a shattered pot! The attacker turned out to be a shock, but not in the way I first expected, for the dragon who assaulted me couldn't have been any older than a youngling, I was old enough to be his mother! I pushed him back and he attempted in vain to bite my arm, but his teeth was unable to break the scales. I threw him off, sending him plummeting on his back; in panic, he grabbed my tail and clung on for dear life, he was too heavy, I felt myself sink from the sky!  
>"Let go!" I barked: "Let go I say, or I shall plummet and we will both die!"<br>"I can't!" The boy cried: "Jotun will kill me if I do!"  
>"I'll be forced to if you do not release me!"<br>I spun in the air, brining my tail up to my face as shoved the dragon off with all my strength! He scratched my tail badly as he lost grip, tears in his face; we both knew there was only one outcome to this: One of us was going to die.  
>"FLY, AWAY!" I screamed at the boy who continued to charge at me; at this point, I hated Jotun more than I ever had before, what kind of dragon sent <em>children <em>to die in his wars?! "GO BACK TO YOUR FAMILY!" Then, I caught a glimpse of shining metal around his neck: He was a slave. He was never going to stop, he couldn't, otherwise his master would kill him. My heart was heavy as he charged at me one final time. It was the final time because I was faster than him, and he never even saw the bladed gauntlet until it slashed his throat, sending blood pouring forth. He looked at me, his tear-filled eyes mournfully thankful as he bled out and tumbled from the sky. I cursed Jotun's name, and my own, as I watched him fall: Another soul to add to the people I had to avenge, and another weight on my conscience.

I landed with a gentle thud atop the battlements, joined at last by my Marshal and a few strong swords and wings. Below me, the battle continued to rage, though the battlements, burnt, charred and blood-stained, were ghostly silent, the burnt out or frozen brittle corpses of the defenders were strewn about with an arbitrary morbidity. I knew the castle well, I just needed to find Jotun and put an end to this, with this mission in my mind, I trotted to one of the nearby towers, which I knew would lead back into the castle proper.  
>Inside was surprisingly well tended to. This was still home to my sister, who was the one who ruled this castle in the first place. It was easy for me to forget that Helga was the leader here, Jotun was the husband, the muscle with which she can exert her will. I wondered how this confrontation might unfold; I knew Helga wasn't a good fighter, but I didn't know how many of Jotun's men would be present to protect them; there was also much less space to fight than on the field, Jotun may not be able to use his furious powers within the confines of the castle.<p>

I approached the main hall, where I felt deep down would be where I'd fight. My stomach knotted and fire lit in my eyes; sure enough, on the opposite end of the great chamber sat my foes, Jotun sitting bored in his throne, his wife and queen at his side, snuggled within his wing.

"JOTUN!" I roared: "Jotun! You barbarian! You invader! You enslaver of _children_! Face me! Or are you going to send more _boys _to die in your place?!"  
>He scoffed: "So that boy Hosvir was stupid enough to face you?"<br>"Hosvir?" Helga scowled: "He was my cup-bearer!"  
>"Dirty savage!" My marshal hissed: "What dragon enslaves their own kind, enslaves CHILDREN of their own kind!?"<br>Jotun ignored his shouts and continued to fondle his wife. "Well, let's put it this way, he'll never steal food from the pantries again." He smirked, leaning in to kiss her cheek: "Worry not, my love. Leave us, I shall handle your sister myself. When we win this war, we'll both have many slaves in order to fulfil our... Desires." He flicked a glance to me, before standing, stepping down from his throne and approaching me, wings outstretched. "And so comes the youngest Jarnhud, so fresh and so pretty, and heavy with eggs. Will you duel me, one on one, with the honour you crave so much?" I nodded with a snarl, much to the worried faces of my men. He chuckled: "Foolish girl."  
>He lunged at me, just barely missing as I jumped out of the way. I sprayed him with ice, which he deflected with his wings. I launched myself into the air to rain ice shards down upon him, piecing his wings but doing little more than scraping and cutting at the thick scales! He spun around, a snarl upon his snout as he struck me with the back of his paw, nearly sending me to the floor, but landing with a neat roll, my face burned from where he hit me!<br>wings outstretched, he retaliated as such, the sheer force of his elements pushing me back, despite shielding my face with my own wing membrane; his fierce blast of frost was suppressive, I couldn't move lest I rest taking more serious injury, allowing Jotun the close the gap between him and I! He was close, within striking distance…

I head-butted him with all my might, taking the distraction to sink my iron blades into his cheek, rendering it in two and making his mouth much wider than before, a sick, bloody grin. I was in a rush of fury and maternal loathing of this threat to my eggs; if Finn himself entered the room, he couldn't pull me off the Perisher. I slashed, and slashed, and slashed again! Cutting his face, the cheeks, the _eyes_! He screamed in pain as he clutched his bleeding face, his sight was gone, all he could see was blood and darkness! With his sight destroyed, he struggled to block me, I was too fast! I bit his legs, I tore and cut and bathed him in frost! He returned ice with more ice, ducking and dodging, I avoided most of his frozen shards and biting snow! Smashing large boulders of ice with my tail and claws before I drove an ice dart into his chest, forcing him to the ground with a mighty thud! With another slash, I cut his throat and he collapsed, blood spilling out onto the floor. I stood above him, but something wasn't right…  
>Then, a kick in the chest! Still bleeding, Jotun wasn't finished yet! He floored me and grabbed my neck, his bloody, torn eyes stared blindly but his face was fixated upon mine. Blood continued to pour from him, splashing warm red onto my face, neck and torso.<br>"Get… Off, me!" I choked as he continued to squeeze the life out of me.  
>"Before I die." He growled, his tone laboured: "I'm going to conquer you, and break you. You're going to die with me tonight!"<p>

"Never!" I hissed, spitting at his face. "**You must conquer the world before you may conquer me!**"

With all my strength burning in my forepaws, I ripped his grip from my throat and kicked him away! He staggered, his skin was pale as a ghost now; even as the last of his strength gave out, he continued to charge at me! But it wasn't enough: His shaking legs gave way beneath him and he fell into a pool of his own blood; his limp, quivering forelegs dragged him through the rich ooze, each movement becoming slower, and more pained, as his skin grew paler and his life faded. Eventually, he groaned and lay still, the outpour from his shredded throat dripped dry: Jotun the Perisher was dead. Panting with exhaustion and agony, I pulled myself to my feet; my body was bruised, dirty and blood-soaked, but I was alive. I turned to my men, wishing I hadn't been foolish enough to fight by myself.

"NO!" I heard a scream, I span around to see Helga running towards her dead husband, sobbing. She huddled over him, holding his head in her paws, tears dribbling down her face: "No, no no no no no no, please gods, no! My love! Oh, my mate is dead!" She buried her face into his bloody chest, howling and praying for the gods to give him back to her. She looked up at me, her eyes wet and burning: "You killed him! You killed my husband!"  
>"<em>You <em>killed my family." I growled: "My sister! My own sister destroyed our house! And for what, a big, strong dragon? An army? Someone to shove their cock in you?! ANSWER ME!"  
>"I loved him! I loved him more than anything!"<br>"More than your family?!"  
>"Our family turned on me for someone I loved! Just as they turned on you for something YOU loved! They stopped being my family when they made me chose between me and them!"<br>I growled, ready to pounce: "You chose poorly."

The fight between me and Helga was not a fair one, even with an egg deep within me: I was a trained fighter, Helga wasn't; I was wearing armour, and baring weapons, Helga wasn't; I trained daily, my body was strong and (pregnancy aside) ideally built for fast, sharp slashes and bites, Helga wore a heavy gown and jewellery, she was soft, she even had a bit of weight from years of luxury, comfort and lavish food; worst of all, I was riding on adrenaline, and the knowledge that I'd won, I'd cut the head off Helga's army and destroyed her chances of having kids and uniting Jotun's hordes and her own realm, Helga on the other hand was grief stricken, her fighting was blurred by wet eyes and a broken heart. Her pretty, polished white little trimmed claws barely scratched my hide, armour or cloak. She tried to swing at me, which I blocked with ease; I struck her and sent her flying! She rolled across the floor, pulling herself up and taking to the air. I jumped to join her, quickly intercepting her weak and slow flight. She attempted to claw at me, but I grabbed her attacking paw, gaining more and more air, my inhibitions left me and I kicked, sending her tumbling, falling upside-down to the floor!  
>She landed on her back; a horrifying <em>crack <em>signalled that something in Helga had gone badly wrong. It took her a second for the realisation and the pain to reach her mind, but once it had, she cried and howled in panic and pain.  
>"My legs!" She screamed: "I can't move! I can't move my legs!"<br>The landing had broken her back. While she might yet live from the injury, she wouldn't want to: She was paralysed.  
>My anger and my hate seemed to drop out of me like rain from a cloud, I felt only pity, and guilt. I glided down next to my sister, sitting at her side. "We were your family, Helga... You were my sister, I looked up to you and respected you. You were the heir to the dynasty, and You threw it all away... What would mother say if she saw what we've done to each other? To our family?"<br>Her lip quivered as she stared at me, the horror of what she'd done finally sunk in: "I, I just, I wanted him, so much... I thought that everything would be alright... I didn't think it would get this bad. It just... Happened."  
>I held Helga's paw: "I'm sorry Helga. You knew I'd have to avenge them eventually. You knew I was coming." My own eyes were wet now too: "I loved you, Helga. I didn't want to kill you. I don't want to be a kinslayer."<br>"No, no, you're no kinslayer. You're not a coward like me... I, I loved you too." Helga whimpered: "I'm sorry... Please..." She begged: "Please, just, end it. Do it quickly. But promise me something. You must go to my bedchambers, alone, once I'm gone. There's something in there you have to see. Please promise me you'll do that for me."  
>"I promise..." I took her quivering head in my paws: "I'll do this quickly. You'll feel no pain."<br>Shaking, I held Helga's head in my paws and quickly twisted, a snap echoed through the hall, signalling that Helga Jarnhud was no more. I continued to tremble as I turned to my men. "...It's done." I spoke: "Get out there, and end the fighting somehow. Let everyone know that Jotun the Perisher is dead, and that his army has no leader."  
>"What about you, your majesty?" The marshal asked: "You look pretty beat up, and you just had to kill your own sister." He looked at me, worried. "Are you going to be alright?"<br>"I'll be fine! Just, please, send word to Finn that the war has been won, I want him here at Castle Jarnhud as soon as possible. For now though, I just want to be alone."

**So this was victory? I expected it to feel better than this. I remembered how badly I wanted vengeance, how desperately I wanted Helga and Jotun to die. Now though, I just felt wrong. A deep troubling guilt hung inside me as though my heartstrings were in a knot. I'd had my revenge, but now, through my own quest for vengeance, I was the only Jarnhud left; it rested upon me alone to carry the legacy of our family.  
><strong>  
>I left the hall, leaving my men to see to the bodies of Helga and Jotun, they would have funerals in due course, but for now, Marshal Gauti had to ensure that the fighting stopped. Sure enough, as I wandered down the halls, I gradually heard the sounds of battle die down, eventually replaced with that of cheering.<br>Pushing open a familiar door, I found Helga's bedroom: She'd moved to the bedroom where mother and father used to sleep, the large bed being an idea place for the new mistress of the castle and her husband. The first thing I noticed was just how warm it was within the room. A great fireplace had been lit, and burned with a large, glowing fire, which was where most of the heat came from, but there was also thick curtains over the windows and countless lit candles, even the walls were covered heavily in heavy tapestries, as to trap as much of the warmth as possible.  
>What I saw next put everything into context.<br>Upon the end of the bed, opposite from the fireplace, was a nest; inside the nest was a single, sapphire blue egg. I walked up to it, picking it up to take a closer look: It was far lighter than I expected, and its smooth, dry surface pleasing to the touch, but left me reeling inside. Helga and Jotun had a child together, and I was holding it in my paws!

**The egg was my blood, but it presented a problem: If I let the egg live, how could I explain it away and retain my position? Helga's child could split the realm in two just by existing: For now, I was nothing my than a chieftess masquerading as a queen, the baby would be a **_real _**queen, or a king.**  
><strong>But... He was my sister's child, try as I might, I loved that egg the second I laid eyes on it. I would be going into labour soon, I decided to summon Finn to me, I needed help...<strong>

Days passed, and it finally happened: A sharp, pushing pain between my hind legs. I'd not left Helga's bedchambers since the war ended, claiming injury, and a need to rest; I was resting, but I also found myself nesting over the egg, swiftly hiding it whenever healers or guardians came to see to me.  
>My husband burst through the door, joined by two midwives. His face flush with panic, excitement and exhaustion: He must have flown for days!<br>"Out!" I winced: "Get the midwives out!"  
>"Danthe my love, they're here to help!"<br>"I don't need their help!" I snapped: "Get them out! I only want _you_. I _need _you! Get, them, out!"  
>The two midwives reluctantly bowed, leaving the room.<br>"Lock the door." I ordered, my face contorted in pain: "Lock the damn door!"  
>He obeyed, before running to my side: "It's happening? You're laying!"<br>I nodded, but pointed to a mound of blankets: "Open them, please. You need, you need to see something."  
>Cautious, he obliged, unwrapping the blankets of the nest, gasping upon seeing the egg.<br>"It, it was Helga's" I groaned: "She had an egg before I arrived, that's why she was so easy to beat! I, I couldn't kill it!" Tears flowed down my face: "I couldn't kill a child, not again! I, I don't-" I howled out in pain again as I finally birthed: a single, sapphire blue egg, it was slightly smaller than that of Helga's, but otherwise they looked very similar; Finn also noticed this similarity as he cradled the egg in his paws, a big smile beaming from his face. "Does anyone else in Castle Jarnhud know of this?" I shook my head, Finn nodded, speaking slowly: "Alright. Listen to me. Helga... Helga didn't have any babies... We had _twins_." He walked over to me, sitting by my side as my strength faded, and collapsed into an exhausted heap. I was drained, but maternally happy as Finn handed me my newly laid egg, and Helga's.  
>"Twins?" My eyes went wide: "You think we should pass it off as our own?" He nodded, the thought <em>did <em>cross my mind as well long before he arrived, but to hear _him _suggest it... "...This conversation can't leave this room." I informed him.  
>"I know."<br>I trembled at the thought of what I was planning. "Very well... I, I had two eggs, two children." I smiled: "Two wonderful little hatchlings, with a wonderful dragon for a father..."

**Motherhood, That was something a younger me would never have expected, or even wanted. But now it was 834: I was 177 years of age now, nearly the equivalent of a 20 year old human woman, and I was already a queen, a marshal, and a war hero; those were all easy however, I was very, very young to be a mother; it was terrifying.  
>For now though, I had other matters to deal with, namely, how to handle the bodies of Helga and Jotun. Helga was a traitor to the family, but she was still family, and while Jotun may have been a monster, he was her mate, and had created a life with her.<strong>

The three great houses of what is now Sekeolath each had a different way to dispose of their dead kinsmen and kinswomen. House Abelburben lived in their home next to Lake Burben, which they were named after; their dead were given a traditional Viking cremation upon the lake. House Horn was seafaring, living as masters over the city and isle of Hornholm and its merchants, their bodies were buried at sea. House Jarnhud was different to both of them: Our castles-both Castle Jarnhud and The Freezer-were both built atop a network of tunnels and caves, within one of those tunnels Castle Jarnhud had built a crypt for our family's dead: It was in this crypt I decided my late sister and Jotun (the lowest of the Jarnhuds, baring our name by marriage bonds only) would be buried. I was head of the dynasty now, and so I made a decision that one more soul whose body had passed would be buried here: Hosvir the Slave.  
>Few people gathered for the funeral ceremony, not even Finn was present, he was looking after the eggs while I was gone. Helga wasn't exactly popular, and with Jotun's death, his horde had fractured and broken down as different warriors all fought to take control, they didn't know he had an heir, and even if they had, a baby in an egg was not strong enough to rule a barbarian horde, so they destroyed themselves.<br>One guest who was kind enough to join me however was Isete. She was never seen not wearing some kind of long, flowing dress, even under the heavy cloaks and furs.  
>"It surprises me that you're willing to allow the body of a dragon like Jotun to rest among your ancestors and kin." Isete mused. I bit my lip, I didn't want to speak ill of the dead, no matter how much I hated Jotun.<br>"She was his mate. He was a Jarnhud through ties of love, but nothing more."  
>"And the slave boy?"<br>"_Hosvir_." I growled.  
>"Forgive me. And Hosvir?<br>"I don't want him to be forgotten." I replied, watching the embalmed bodies being lowered into their graves. "He had nothing, and I took what little he had left. I don't want time to take away his name too. The poor boy had no family name, Hosvir was all he had, all he was. I won't allow him to be buried a nameless slave. He'll rest here, as would a Jarnhud." I turned to Isete, my face grim: "My queen, if I ask anything of your rule, let me ask this. No more. No more slaves. No dragonkind or mankind can be taken as slaves here anymore, don't let Sekeolath dirty its just name with such a sin."  
>Isete smiled. "Done. You've won me a war, and given me a kingdom. You shall always have my ear, Danthe the Avenger."<p>

****My eggs hatched in 835, within my bedchambers within the Freezer. I was 208 by that time; by most people's standards, I'd barely been an adult for longer than 2 dragonyears, though that really varied between different dragon tribes: To some, a dragoness reached maturity when she flew for the first time; in others, it was when you breathed your element for the first time, or killed a sentient foe or had a successful hunt, or had sex for the first time (all which I had done already). But here, for me, simply reaching the age of 180 human years was considered sufficient to be a 'young' adult; however, I was now a true adult, as I had lived for a solid 200.****

I coiled myself around the two hatching babies. It was Helga's egg which hatched first, out of which emerged a sky blue dragoness, with white wings and underbelly; she was small, far smaller than her egg, she was almost sickly; she crawled out, squeaking and bumbling about towards the other egg, curiously watching as it too hatched: A larger blue male entered the world, breaking free of the eggshell and jumping down to meet his family.  
>Finn grinned from ear to ear, nuzzling his new children with his snout. "A son and a daughter." He spoke: "And it seems Helga's daughter isn't too different in appearance to our son, just, paler."<br>"She's awfully small." I commented. "Far weaker looking than I'd expect from... Well, you know who."  
>"That may be so, but she'll have us, and her brother. We'll protect her." I frowned:<br>"We can't protect her from everything..." I sighed: "We're going to have to tell her, aren't we?"  
>"Yes, but not now. When she's older, we'll just have to hope she'll understand when the time comes..."<br>"Yes..." I sighed: "But, for now, whatever shall we call our children?"  
>"I don't know about our son, but, if I had my say in it, I'd call her Danthe. I'd name my entire house after you. Finn Av Danthe."<br>I smirked: "Dream on, sweet husband... I do have a name for our son though... Hosvir."  
>"Hosvir?"<br>I nodded. "When I was fighting to retake Castle Jarnhud, I was attacked by a slave boy. He was so scared of Jotun punishing him for fleeing from me, he chose to take his chances with me instead... I murdered one child that night, a weak, scared creature. Never again. I want a reminder of that. No true Jarnhud should ever harm those weaker than them."  
>"Well said." Finn nodded. "...I've thought of a name for the girl. Nauma. Nauma and Hosvir Av Danthe, <em>the son and daughter of Danthe<em> _Jarnhud_."  
>I smiled. "May many more still come..."<p> 


	3. Act Three: Nurturance

**And so, life continued on. Years passed, the 7th Century drew to close, the 8th Century begun, and my life began to settle down as my children grew. I had come a long way from arguing with a Roman over stones and wood: I had a kingdom to manage, with chiefdoms, castles and counties to govern; I had an army to oversee in the name of the High Queen; but most importantly, I had a family to take care of. **

**It's funny how life works, the very fears my father had, fears I couldn't understand before, were vivid and clear to me now. I wanted the best for my children, I wanted them to have good futures and many children with the best possible husbands and wives. My father was far stricter than me in many matters, but now, I could at least understand **_**why**_**.**

Night descended upon the Freezer as I lead my son and daughter to their bedchambers. They were still young, no more than four dragonyears of age, but it had been plenty of time for me to identify what the character of my children were.  
>Nauma was a very sweet, gentle girl, but she'd never gained much more muscle from when she hatched, she was very quick of both mind and body, but that body was also weak and delicate, much unlike myself when I was her age, in fact, her feminine habits and meek tameness put her more in stead with my late sister.<br>Hosvir on the other hand definitely had my flare, he was brave and adventurous, developing a healthy weight and strong muscles, for he trained often, often with me watching from the side-lines, or helping him in person. Nauma had my brains, and Hosvir (while definitely not _stupid_) had my brawn, I saw a lot of my late brother in him.  
>However, more important than that was how they treated one another: Nauma was slightly older than her brother, but Hosvir was very protective of the young dragoness. It was as if he knew she was different, weaker; her secret blood had not served her well, for I saw far more of frail, timid Helga in her than the strong conqueror Jotun. He spent his every waking hour with her, playing, training, enjoying one another's company; she'd been taught to read early, picking it up fast. It wasn't long before she was reading to Hosvir after he was tired from training, Nauma didn't train her body, but she certainly trained her <em>mind<em>; I was even tempted to hire a magician for my court, so I could teach her magic.

"Story, mamma!" Hosvir petered, hanging off my neck. "Tell us a story!"  
>"Yes, please, oh please!" Nauma joined in, trotting alongside me as I slumped into a warm corner of their room, next to a fireplace.<br>"Very well, it's good one of your remembered your manners. Hosvir, darling, please get off your mother's neck, you're growing quickly, and you're very big already."  
>He obeyed, dropping down and landing with a gentle glide, before bounding over and plopping himself down next to his sister and I, the fire crackling quietly alongside the occasional puff of wind outside, tossing about a light snowfall as it went.<br>"Tell me, my young children, what do you know of the gods?"  
>Nauma, as usual, was first to jump at the question.<br>"I know I know!" She squeaked happily. "There's Ro'Silios and Ro'Denthanus, and they created all the other gods! I know all of them momma! I could recite all of them without reading it in my books! My special book about the gods!"  
>I chuckled. "I know you, sweet child, I know you could... So then, little Nauma, tell me, who is the goddess of nature, love and fertility? If you can guess that, I shall tell you a story."<br>"Oh, that would be Ro'Gemuth!" Nauma chirped, to which I nodded.  
>"Very good. And it's Ro'Gemuth that our story is about..."<p>

_Long ago, when the gods themselves walked the world of dragons and men, Ro'Gemuth, the goddess of nature, love and fertility, came to our realm. The goddess Ro'Gemuth came to our kingdom, seeking a champion to represent her on Earth, to whom she would bestow her blessings._

_News spread quickly of her arrival, it wasn't every day a goddess walked among them, especially one as fair and as beautiful as she! Four contenders had gathered in a village, awaiting judgement by Ro'Gemuth: A strong dragon named Gudmund the Tall; a clever dragon spell caster and scholar, named Kol the Blue; a rich dragon noble named Chief Guthorm Av Bissthalan; and finally, a quick and sly dragon named Tind the Thief._

_Tind was the first to step forward. He approached with a smile._  
><em>"Good goddess." He spoke. "I should be your champion, for I am quick and sly. Whatever you wanted I could take for you. I am a master thief, and there is nothing I cannot steal."<em>  
><em>But Ro'Gemuth didn't patronise thieves, and his presence repulsed her. No matter how good a thief he might be, he could never steal her heart, and so she passed him by.<em>

_Next came Chief Guthorm, he bowed before the goddess._  
><em>"The thief is naught but criminal scum." He announced. "<strong>I <strong>should be your champion, not he! I am a nobleman and someday, with your blessing, I might be king. On the day that I might wear a golden crown, I shall build glorious temples in your name across the known world!"_  
><em>But once again, Ro'Gemuth was unsatisfied.<em>  
><em>"You seek to buy my favour?" She asked. "You do not seem to realise, love and blessings cannot be <strong>bought<strong>, only **earned**." With that, he too was passed by._

_Third was Kol the Blue, his face was old, and had never known joy._  
><em>"Divine goddess." He spoke, his tone flat, almost as though he was bored. "These people are fools, fools with not a brain in their heads between them. It is for that reason that I should be your champion. As your champion, I could unravel the secrets of the universe and come to eventually know everything there is to know."<em>  
><em>Ro'Gemuth was interested in Kol, but she could see into his heart, it was black and cold; his intentions weren't malicious, but a lifetime of bitterness had left him coldly disinterested in love or the happiness of others: His story must have been a sad one but he was still unworthy to be a champion. Ro'Gemuth passed him by.<em>

_Lastly, there was Gudmund..._  
><em>"BEHOLD!" He shouted proudly, his voice booming. "I AM GUDMUND THE TALL! THE STRONGEST DRAGON TO EVER LIVE!" He lacked the humility of the previous contestants, proudly strutting up and down the square, flicking his long, white tail with each step. "THESE OTHER DRAGONS ARE WEAK! I SHOULD BE YOUR CHAMPION, FOR I AM STRONG! I..." He seemed more distracted than the other contestants. "OH, FOR GOODNESS SAKE, SOMEONE SHUT THAT CRYING UP!"<em>

_The goddess, who cared for all her subjects, looked to the sound of the crying, turning away from the brutish dragon who spoke only in shouting. The crying was from a little dragoness, who hid under the leg of her father, who sat hunched around her: The two of them were skinny, dirty and tired looking. She watched the father whisper softly into the child's ear, and she calmed. He handed her a torn half of bread, which she hungrily wolfed down._  
><em>"She's pretty." Ro'Gemuth spoke, causing the dragon to look up in surprise.<em>  
><em>"I, erm, I suppose she is, my lady goddess." He bowed his head. "We are homeless, and penniless. It brings me great shame when I have to steal food to survive. But I'd do it every day so my daughter can eat."<em>  
><em>Ro'Gemuth smiled. "What is your name?"<em>  
><em>"Egil, your grace." He answered: "And this is my daughter Aesa."<em>  
><em>"Very well, Egil, I think I've found who I'm looking for." She spoke, her mind decisive. Hearing this, Gudmund shoved his way to the goddess, his face triumphant.<em>  
><em>"HA HA!" he bellowed. "I KNEW IT WOULD BE ME!"<em>  
><em>"Oh, be gone you fool!" Ro'Gemuth hissed. "<strong>You <strong>are not my champion. **Egil **is."_  
><em>Gudmund growled, his face was practically purple in rage. "THIS HOMELESS WASTREL!? HE'S WEAK, HE'S NOTHING! I COULD CRUSH THIS PATHETIC FOOL IN MY SLEEP!"<em>  
><em>The goddess scowled, conjuring her power over nature, great vines grabbed the brute by the legs and dragged him away, tossing him aside.<em>  
><em>"Me?" Egil stammered. "You think me worthy to be your champion?" She nodded. "But, why? I'm not strong, nor clever, nor quick nor rich."<em>  
><em>"I know." Ro'Gemuth smiled. "Idiots like Gudmund have a lot of strength, but use it only to their own ends. He would've genuinely hurt you if he thought it would name him my champion. He is a bully, and not worthy of my blessing."<em>

_And so, Egil became the champion of the goddess Ro'Gemuth. She showered him with her blessings, and neither he nor his daughter ever went hungry again._

"And that's our story." I concluded, though I wasn't quite finished yet. "Could either of you tell me _why_ Egil was chosen by Ro'Gemuth?"  
>"I know, I know!" Hosvir cried. "It's because he gave his daughter that bread."<br>"No it wasn't!" Nauma jabbed: "It's because he was the only one who wasn't being selfish."  
>"Well, actually, you're both right, in your own way." I explained: "The reason the goddess chose Egil over the others wasn't because of what he had, be it power, intellect, wealth or cunning. It was what he used them for. What strength he had in the world, he used for the well-being of someone who had even less than he story was about Ro'Gemuth, that much is true, but really, it doesn't matter, the rule would still apply, <em>the strong should always protect the weak.<em>" I stood up, heading to the door, blowing out the candle as I went. "I'll leave you two to dwell on that in your dreams. Good night."  
>"Good night mamma." They cooed.<p>

**Perhaps I was very heavy handed with the moral of my story, but I wanted to make sure that my children learnt it, and stood by it. No more so than with Nauma. Both Finn and I hadn't forgotten that Jotun's blood flowed through Nauma's veins; we didn't know how much she'd turn out like the brutal warlord, if she'd one day turn into a monster, or if she'd remain the golden-hearted soul she was. Whatever her fate would be, it would be brighter if she was shaped to be a better dragoness in her youth.**

**However, as much as I may have wanted to focus my life upon my children, I could not, I was still the Queen in the North, and I was also still Isete's Marshal, whom the High Queen had grown to trust me on many matters.**

The castle of Korwin was unlike anything Danthe had seen before. It was built along Lake Burben, rich with fish and edible seaweed, helping to feed the people of what was quickly becoming a city larger than anything I'd seen before. I'd been a ruler for far too long to believe that a city this large could be sustained on fish and algae alone: Korwin was a city driven by trade and the migration of the humans and other sentient creatures, creating a great melting pot where there was great activity and energy in every corner.

"Danthe, my friend! Please, come in." Isete greeted, a tired but cheerful tone to her voice as she invited me into her study; she took a clear glass bottle from a cabinet near a large, glass window and poured two glasses full of the rich red fluid. "Would you care to share in some wine? It's shipped in from the Italian Peninsula. Can't really call it anything else anymore. Rome fell, then there was the nightmare with Malefor's damned kingdom, then perhaps the Byzantines, then... Ashes." She sighed: "I've heard some news though, which has given me cause for happiness. News from the dragons in the South." She handed me a glass, instructing me to sit opposite her desk; I looked at Iste, waiting for to continue speaking; her face bore some new wrinkles, scars from stressful days and sleepless nights. "...I didn't believe it when I first heard the news, it seemed too good to be true, and to some extent it is... Avalar has returned. One of the descendants of the old King Lucianus of Avalar has emerged, and has reformed the fractured realm under the vassalage of King Rudolph II, a _human_! The king of Burgundy no less!" She took a deep sip of her drink, wetting her mouth to continue speaking; my blood heart skipped a beat at this development on behalf of our fellow dragons. "Yes, this is certainly good news. However, we cannot rest now, we have work to do! With this resurgence in draconic presence in Europe, I worry that some humans may seek to put down what _they _see as a threat."  
>"What do you propose we do?" I asked, getting comfortable within the padded chair.<br>"The only thing we can. We prepare ourselves, build up our strength, and make our kingdom strong enough to scare away any Norsemen who might consider attacking in search of gold, fame and crowns." She sighed: "We will be invading the human tribes who surround our kingdom. The Bothnians and Sami, all of them will be subjugated and assimilated into Sekeolath. The humans have already united to create Norway, and have taken Halogaland already. How long do you suppose it will take before that big, unified kingdom, with a fat human king, looks greedily up at us and sees land fit for plunder? The humans will fall in line quickly, as they always do in opposition of dragons. But there'll be no plunder for them!" She poured herself another drink, but this time setting the glass on the desk, she'd finish it later. "_We _shall make the first move, and secure our kingdom for a thousand of their oh-so-short years! I need only one thing. Queen Danthe the Avenger, do you have my back in this campaign? I'm going to need you now, more than ever before. Avalaris _fire_, its burns hot, and it burns bright, but if they're not careful, they'll burn out and be naught but embers in a dying fire pit. But Sekeolath is a _glacier_, it is vast, it is cold, and it is unconquerable..."

**I couldn't exactly refuse my liege in her request, but I didn't want to be apart from my family again. It was certainly too dangerous for our children to be at a war camp, but I remembered how hurt Finn was when I denied him the right to accompany me. Perhaps, so long as he did not fighting and kept to the camp, he'd be safe with us; this wasn't Jotun and his horde, but, with the slight exception of Halogaland, a disorganised band of tribes and wandering barbarians with no dragons loyal to what little army they could muster: They'd never be able to mount a meaningful resistance against an army of Sekeolasian dragons and men.**

I was not the only one to have changed a lot since my youth: My marshal, Gauti, and his brother Grimm had matured greatly; no longer did they fight with one another as they once had, and were now lords of my realm. The marshal would accompany me on the war, but I needed someone to look after my children while I was gone, and someone else to stand in my stead as regent, that person would be Grimm.  
>Originally, I had gone to my liege, asking for her to rule in my place; she refused, as it was too much work for her to handle, but she <em>did<em> present me with a strange request...  
>"I'd like to stand as guardian of your son and daughter while you are away." Isete explained.<br>"You would?"  
>She nodded: "Of course. I've heard many good things about them. Brave, strong, kind Hosvir. And sweet, clever little Nauma. Your son shall train with my master-at-arms, and your daughter may study the tomes and the magic of Court Magician. They shall be well fed, and sleep in warm beds every night. They shall want for nothing, and it'll help settle their nerves at your absence." At that moment, she was joined by a rather handsome looking blue dragon; he sat next to Isete, affectionately nuzzling her cheek. This was King Sterk the Wise, and it was <em>he<em> who was Isete's Court Magician; like me, it appeared that Isete also had an attraction to gentle, intelligent folk.  
>"The king teach my daughter magic?" I questioned.<br>"But of course." He spoke with a smile, offering me a handshake with paws which seemingly had never seen more violence than a papercut. "I'm not a fighting dragon, good queen, my magical talents lie in enchantments, charms and restorative magic. But I am a scholar! If you wish for your daughter to learn other magics, I'm sure there are books in the palace archives I can dust off for you. It is my pleasure to teach Princess Nauma what I know, as I do not yet have children of my own."  
>Isete smiled, giving her husband a quick kiss on the cheek. "With your gentle soul, and my time nearly upon us, I'll make a father of you yet, my husband." She whispered in his ear.<p>

It was settled: I trusted Isete, and her offer was simply too good to refuse, and it offered my children considerable safety and an opportunity to learn far more than I might be able to teach them. I did regret having to leave them though.  
>"I want to come with you Momma!" Nauma cried, as did Hosvir. "Why do we have to stay?"<br>"Because it's much too dangerous, and you'll have a great time here in Castle Abelburben. It's much warmer here than back in the Freezer. There's a big lake for you to swim and play in, and you'll learn a lot of new things from my friend Isete's husband and her master-at-arms!"  
>"But..." Nauma peeped.<br>"No buts, Nauma." I sighed, nuzzling my daughter. "I love you, my sweet children. Take care, your father and I will be home soon, and we'll write back as often as we can."  
>I turned to my regent, leaving Finn, who hugged them tightly with his wings one last time before handing them over to the High Queen. Gauti and Grimm were at a table, sharing a quiet drink, a final moment together before they parted.<br>"I'm sorry to interrupt." I coughed, a frown on my face. "We're going to need to leave soon."  
>Gauti nodded. "Very well, my queen." He turned to his brother. "I suppose this is goodbye."<br>"Indeed." He smiled meekly. "Yes. Go, bash some humans with the blunt side of a tree for being foolish enough to challenge you, brother."  
>Gauti laughed: "Ha! I fear this may be my last tree-uprooting. I'm not a young dragon anymore. Still, I'll make sure they remember the elder brother of House Skaleretilbake." He hugged his brother with his wings and forelegs. Once they parted, he was ready to join us.<p>

**Isete was correct: The war with the human tribes was nothing compared to the war against the late Jotun and his horde, naught but a disorganised band of men with crude metal weapons and armour. Some had boats which they used on raids, but boats weren't going to be of much help in a war where the enemy is in the sky, not the water...**

The wars were going very well, though Finn was not strong enough to fight, and couldn't lead the armies personally. As such, I was confined to my war camp, deciding to stay with him. The plus side was that Finn was no fool, and had also confined himself to the camp, giving each other plenty of company. My duties were heavily focused on strategic planning and writing to and from the High Queen on our progress; however, there were other letters I had coming, and _those _were the ones that happened to be most important to me.

_Dear mother,_

_Hosvir and I have been having a good time here with Queen Isete and King Sterk, it's been really fun, but I miss you and father. Hosvir has been training with the master-at-arms. His name is Bron and he's really big and really scarred and ugly, but he's been doing a good job making Hosvir a better fighter._

_King Sterk has been really nice to me while you were gone. I got upset and homesick, but he and Isete were really nice to me and helped me to feel better. The king has been teaching me all kinds of history! He taught me about how you went to war with my Aunt Helga the Kinslayer, destroyed Jotun the Perisher and saved our kingdom and our family, I can't lie, Jotun sounded really mean and scary!_

_Sterk's also been teaching_

_ me magic! Magic is so much fun, and really useful! He closed all the shutters and blew out all the candles, making the room where he trained me really dark, and then conjured a little glowy ball. It floated in the air and followed him around, producing a lot of really bright light! He told me it was called a Candlelight Charm, and he then showed me how to cast it myself, but mine wasn't as bright as his. He also gave me loads of books to read, though some were written in funny languages I didn't understand, he told me what they said, and he's helping me learn how to read them._

_I miss you. I hope you're okay, wherever you are, and that you'll be home soon. Hosvir always says he isn't, but I know he's missing you too. My bed here isn't the same as back home, Isete tucks me in and reads me a story, but it's not the same, she doesn't do it the way_

_**you **do it. I miss father too, he's big, soft, and warm, but Sterk is really skinny, and I don't think we can really hug him like we can father. I know you're fighting a war for our realm's future, and I know that's it's really dangerous. Be careful mother, please. Me and Hosvir can't wait for you to be home again._

_Your loving daughter,_

_Nauma._

_PS: The king and queen helped me make you a present! It's a bead necklace with a magic crystal in it! Sterk helped me make it, and showed me how to put a protective ward on it. Wear it and you'll be really lucky! Or so Sterk says, it's my first time enchanting anything, the spell might be a bit weak. I hope you wear it anyway and think of me._

A tear formed in my eye as the letter consumed all else, and I held the thing close to my chest, almost hugging it. The letter's handwriting was awful, a scribbled mess written by a feather quill which probably wasnt being held properly by the writer, and it was plagued with spelling mistakes, but it was my daughter, her heart and mind poured onto paper.  
>I looked inside the envelope of the letter I'd been sent, and sure enough, inside was my present: A small necklace, a Relgimist rosary made up of a number of painted beads, each neatly engraved with the sigil of each of the Relgimist gods, strung along a woollen string; alongside the beads was a single, faintly glowing green crystal, no larger than an almond. I held Nauma's craftwork in my paw, a smile on my face as I placed it around my neck, where it joined Ro'Gul's charm.<br>One thing however pained me, and turned my mouth dry: King Sterk was teaching Nauma about Helga and Jotun. Nobody else knew the truth, but the less she knew of him the better. If I could go my whole life without her learning the truth, she'd live with a heart without the weight of such ancestors, but she had to know the truth, but not like this.  
>I cleared my desk, and begun to write a response:<p>

_To my darling daughter and my brave boy, _

_Thank you so much for your letter. The days I am parted from you pain me too, and me and your father miss you dearly, and cannot wait to have you back in our wings again. However, while the war is going remarkably well, it is not over yet, I may not be able to abandon my duties, but I feel confident in saying I shall be home soon. The war shall be won, Sekeolath shall be strong, and we can be together again._

_My darling Nauma, thank you for your kind gift, such fine craftsmanship, you have a real talent! I shall wear it, and not even Ro'Denthanus himself wouldn't be able to make me take it off again. I am so pleased to hear your studies are going well, you'll become a fine spell caster yet. A word of note which concerns me however: Jotun the Perisher is a dark and scary part of Sekeolath's history, and Helga's story is a sad one. If you want to learn more about it, you can ask me when I return home, but it's not an area of history I would look into alone until you are older._

_To my young Hosvir, you'll be a big, strong warrior someday, you'll make our family name proud. It is good to hear your training is coming along well. If ever you want me to teach you how to be a better fighter, I would happily train you and teach you everything I know. We shall hunt together and bring back fine game someday, as mother and son. For now though, continue to be the son I know and love so much, your sister lacks your great strength, but she may also need your soft heart as much as your strong body. I know you will not let me down though, you never have._

_Hoping to see you again soon, _

_with love, _

_Mother._

The letter was finished, but before sending it, I offered the letter to Finn, who read both my letter and Nauma's. He was very happy to read his young daughter's message. However, he too worried about Jotun's legacy.  
>He sat close to me, his wing draped over my back as he signed the letter we wrote, and sealing its envelope with a wax seal. It seemed rather official for a letter to our children; the only thing which could tell it apart from any other document was the fact it was addressed to Nauma and Hosvir.<p>

**It took a few human years (and many letters to my young children!), but the Bothnian tribes were the first to fall, followed swiftly by the Sapmi, their armies lacked any organisation, and the combined planning of me and my marshal lead to the human armies being surrounded on all fronts. By the time we turned to Halogaland, Isete had intervened, sending spies to destabilise it, leading to what Norway called the Jarldom of Lade to revolt to our side; it was wondrous news for me, as it meant me and Finn could return home earlier than expected...**

"Momma!" Nauma cried as both she and Hosvir charged and hugged my legs with the speed of a charging horse, they weren't small anymore, they nearly knocked me down! "Oh momma! You're back! I've missed you so much!"  
>"It's wonderful to see you again mother!" Hosvir chirped from my other foreleg, he was dramatically stronger looking than before. "Look mother! I'm so strong now! I've even managed to beat the master-at-arms a couple of times!"<br>A loud groan of boredom erupted from Nauma. "He's been boasting about his strength for days! Look at what _I _can do now momma!" the young dragoness pulled away from my leg and skipped around as though her feet were fitted with springs, closing the shutters and plunging the room into darkness. She stopped, sitting on her haunches as she lifted up her forelegs, wobbling a little to keep her balance, and pressed her paws together; a bright light flashed from between her talons and she opened her paws again: A glowing orb floated from them, hanging in the air, bathing the entire room in a warm glow.  
>"You see momma?" She peeped happily. "I can do magic! Hosvir can't do magic! He just hits stuff!"<br>"Conjuring balls of light? Unless you're fighting in a cave, that's not going to help much!" Hosvir protested.  
>"Grr, I'll show you!" Nauma squeaked. She took out of her satchels (which was attached to her sides like saddlebags on a horse) a big leather-bound book, and flicked through it intently, before stopping, skimming the page then closing her eyes in focus. Wind begun to circle around her, taking up more and more speed, creating a very small vacuum of cold air, from which the air itself condensed into liquid, then froze into snow; satisfied, she fired the snowball at Hosvir, which exploded into wetness across his face! I gulped to myself, I recognised that spell, although it was far weaker than when I saw it last.<br>"Gah!" Hosvir yelped. "Mother! King Sterk said no snowballs inside the castle!" To which Nauma stuck out her tongue, smirking over the success of her spell.  
>"Hmm, Nauma dear, wherever did you learn how to cast a spell like that?" I asked, flicking my gaze to Finn, who was doing a much better job of hiding his concern than I.<br>Nauma blushed, looking at her feet as she twirled one of the against the cobbles of the castle floor. "Erm, well, I don't know, I just read about magic for fighting, King Sterk had been teaching me about Jotun the Perisher and his army, and I just... I don't, I just, _did it_. It was really easy."  
>I frowned. "Well, that spell is not a toy, one day, it'll be really powerful. I want you to promise me you won't use it unless you're in real danger, or at least make sure there's nobody you could hurt nearby when you train it."<br>"Don't worry momma, I promise." My daughter replied.  
>"Very good. I need to speak with the queen for a while, why don't you show your father your new magic until I get back, then we can all go home again." Nauma nodded, and I left for the High Queen's study.<p>

Entering Isete's study, I was presented with a familiar pair of glasses, containing a familiarly sweet smelling wine therein. The dragon queen had a pretty big smile on her face as she invited me inside.  
>"So, my valiant conquering friend returns." She greeted. "Your presence lights up my castle as the ancestors' glow lights up the night sky."<br>"As does yours, my queen." I smiled, taking her offered drink and sipping it. "I do hope my children have been behaving well for you and your husband."  
>She laughed aloud at my remark. "What? Little Nauma and Hosvir?! The pair of them have been angels, my friend, such well-behaved young children, full of curiosity and energy, just soaking up anything they can learn from." She smiled, a shrug escaping her. "I must confess, it's reminded me of my own need to have an heir. Your children have certainly helped me to realise that, yes, I think this is a good time to finally settle down and begin a family of my own." She looked at me, a knowing moment of certainty in her face. "...And, I want yours to be a part of it. Danthe, I would propose we merge our houses, Abelburbens and Jarnhuds. If I have a daughter, I would be honoured if you would allow her to marry your son once they both come of age."<br>I frowned, memories of my father plans to arrange a marriage between me and another Abelburben, all those years ago. "Your, your offer is kind, my friend. But, I'm not really comfortable with an arranged marriage. Not personally of course! I would love to see our houses united. But, I remember what it was like to be forced into a marriage to a dragon I knew nothing about. It was too much for me. I don't want that for my children." I ground my teeth slightly inside my mouth, thinking. "Once your children are old enough, I'll speak with my children, and attempt to persuade them to consent to this match, it shall be up to him if he wishes to marry your daughter... Assuming you have a daughter. Have you spoken with Sterk about this? Thought of any names?"  
>Isete shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, my husband wants a son, and wants to call him Faron. A daughter though... Considering your services to me, I may as well name her after you!"<br>I laughed: "Oh, please don't. For the sake of your child, don't."  
>"I must name her something!" Isete smirked. "If not after one of the finest dragonesses I've ever known, then what should I call her?"<br>I paused, thinking it over for a while. "...Honestly? I'd like her to be called Kara, after my late sister. She was a good dragon, and died too young in circumstances which were far too cruel. That, or something similar would be the name I'd chose."  
>"Kara?" The queen paused. "Very well, I shall name her Karelia. Lands afar, something for her to strive towards in our future..."<p>

The thought of pregnancy had nestled itself firmly into my mind when I finally returned home with Finn and my children. It had been a long war, and unlike my younger self, I no longer took enjoyment in it: I had more to lose than I'd ever had before.  
>I lay in bed, resting and restoring my energy with a book in hand. Nauma had shown off her new magic all the way home, skipping in her happy, bouncy manner all the way until she was too tired to continue, falling asleep the second she hopped into her bed that night. As for me, I was tired, but my mind was lustful; this only became clearer when Finn finally joined me, bringing me food and Italian wine.<br>"Thank you." I spoke as he set it down atop a nearby bedside table; I was eyeing him up as he sat next to me, I couldn't help it, and he knew it.  
>"A war is hardly the time for indulgences." My husband remarked. "You rode into battle pregnant once before, I'd never been so afraid in my life."<br>I sighed. "I know, a foolish act committed by a foolish girl. Never again."  
>He leaned over, kissing my cheek. "Well, it's a good thing we're no longer at war." He smiled. "My queen is free to pursue her every <em>need <em>without fear or worry. _Whatever they may be..._"  
>I smirked, he knew exactly what I had in mind. "So, how do you fancy adding a new son or daughter to our family?"<br>Finn smiled, snuggling close to me. "I'd enjoy that very much..."

**And so, me and Finn brought new life into our household. After a yearlong pregnancy, the egg was laid; however, it proved to be a late hatcher, breaking into the world in 937 as an ice dragoness named Dagmaer. Her birth was a nervous affair, for she was born sickly and small compared to my other children, and she never really put on muscle: She was beautiful, mind, her body was long and slender, as were her tail and neck. Even as a hatchling, her every step was graceful and fluid, she would become a very beautiful dragoness in the future, and many dragons would clamour for her favour.**

**Another dragoness joined our family in 989, through a night of passion. This daughter looked and behaved much as I did when I was a baby: She was stronger than Nauma, smarter than Hosvir, and braver and more adventurous than all of them put together when they were her age; she had a certain fire in her heart I couldn't help but respect. I named her Amora.**

**I was not the only dragoness to bring new life into the world however: Isete had beaten me to the post there, and boy, had she done so. Twins. An identical pair, one male, one female, and born in 935 at the same time. As she planned, the boy was named Faron, and the girl was named Karelia.**

Isete was clearly overjoyed at her good fortune, as was I. As such, I invited Isete and her newly expanded family to the Freezer for a grand feast to celebrate.  
>It was a glorious event, reminding me of better times when the renewed Freezer was young (and not even finished!), as was I. The great hall where feasts were held had never been so crowded! Both my family and Isete's sat at a grand table at the far end of the hall, decorated with fine silks and finer foods from across the known world: Wines from Italy, fruits from the Frankish farms, thick juicy meats from further south and Norway, and grains, bread, ale and cheese from those few English (mostly from York) who were willing to trade with us: Our halls had come a long way from mere fish and berries.<p>

There were so many dragons visiting my court, even I was surprised; I'd grown up around ice dragons with little exception, rare was a dragon whose scales were not an icy blue around these parts. But no! Great dragons had come from far and wide on the behest of the High Queen: Dragons of all colours and elements you could imagine, we even had nobility! Amora was barely a dragonyear of age yet, and so was quietly huddled atop my back, nestled comfortably between my wings where she took a nap.  
>"Queen Lucilia." I greeted. "It's truly an honour to have you and King Jedias in my castle. Too long have we been without news on the fate of Avalar."<br>"Thank you." Queen Lucilia, a pretty red fire dragoness (who looked young despite being 10 years my elder!) smiled. Her tone was a rather smooth and soothing dialect of Draconic which contrasted greatly with the much harsher accent of Draconic spoken in Sekeolath; the poor queen looked simply frozen up here, even with a roaring fire pit illuminating the room.  
>I felt movement brush against my leg. I looked down to see Dagmaer huddled up under me, staring up at the fire dragoness in a shy fascination: She'd never seen a fire dragon of any sort, not least their <em>queen<em>!  
>"Momma." She squeaked quietly. "Is that dragoness bleeding? Why is she red?"<br>"No no, little wing." I smiled, nuzzling her. "Not all dragons are blue, my dear. Some of us are red, some of us are green, or black, or white, yellow, almost any colour you can think of." I looked up at Lucilia. "Dagmaer, this is Queen Lucilia. She's the queen of the dragons in the south. She's a very interesting dragoness, because she doesn't breathe ice."  
>"S-she doesn't?"<br>"No. She breathes _fire_."  
>Lucilia smiled, spitting out a tiny little jet of flame, causing Dagmaer to gasp in surprise.<br>"Wow!" the little dragoness squeaked. "That's amazing!"  
>"Oh, pretty young princess, you are too kind. Back home where I come from, there are many dragons who are fire dragons where I come from, and many more besides."<br>"Really?" The little child peeped.  
>"Of course. There are dragons like you who can control the ice and cold, and dragons like me who can harness the power of heat and flame. But then, there's also dragons who can command the thunder and lightning, the winds, the plants and animals, many many different dragons with all manner of magic."<br>Upon hearing of 'magic' Nauma, who had been listening in on the conversation, quickly darted over.  
>"Magic? I'm sorry, your majesty, I just overheard you were speaking of magic. I love magic!"<br>"So I've heard." Lucilia smiled. "You are the spell caster princess called Nauma. Are you not? I hear from the High Queen's husband that you've got quite the brilliant young mind."  
>"I'm a spell caster! Yes! Look! I've been reading up on conjuration!" Her face contorted into concentration, muttering some form of incantation under her breath: There was a flash of light, which revealed an apple in her paws once it faded; a tiny baby apple, but an apple nonetheless. "Hmmm." She groaned. "Sorry, I've not quite mastered it yet. I tried to do the spell where you conjure a dove..." She blushed as the Avalarian took the summoned fruit. "I think I'll stick to apples for now."<br>"Perhaps you should run along and play with your siblings and the Abelburbens?" I suggested to Dagmaer and Nauma. They grumbled, but left nonetheless.

The Abelburben twins were found on the battlements with Hosvir. The two of them were engaged in a brutal battle of snowballs with the older dragon child: He had taken cover behind some crates, pinned down by the unrelenting attack of the twins, who threatened to flank him.  
>I know of this because, after Finn took Amora to bed, I went to my quiet spot atop said battlements, where a stray snowball struck me across the face.<br>"Oh my gosh!" Karelia cried, running over. "I'm so sorry Queen Danthe! Are you okay? I was aiming for Hosvir, we were playing, and, and my shot must've gone astray!"  
>Snow was snow, that was never going to have hurt; but I was a child once, and I wanted to toy with these younger ones. I stood up, staring down at the hatchling.<br>"You just struck a queen." I growled. "Do you know what we do to little dragons who throw snow at their host?" I suddenly smirked, swiping down some snow from a nearby roof, causing it to fall to the ground; and then I began to snowball them myself, turning the battle decidedly in Hosvir's favour...

**I wasn't angry, not at all: Faron and Karelia were good kids, Isete taught them manners, and she taught them well. She'd grow up to be a fine young dragoness at this rate.  
>However, for Nauma and Hosvir, while they hid it well, they were beginning to change. Nauma and Hosvir were both 155 human years of age, they were adolescents. They'd gone from calling me 'momma' to 'mother', their wings were strong enough to carry them great distances, and soon they would be proper adult dragons.<strong>

**Those years had been some of the happiest of my entire life: The Danthe who chose to be a warrior above all else had faded away, leaving Danthe the Avenger, Danthe the queen, Danthe the parent: Before I even knew it, I'd turned into my mother...**

**Of course, **_**my **_**mother never lied to me like I lied to Nauma. I dreaded the day she learnt the truth about her birth: It wasn't a case of if, but **_**when**_**...**

"Mother, would you tell me more of Jotun, and Helga the Kinslayer?"  
>Nauma had grown into a beautiful young dragoness, with a far keener mind than I; however, as she and Hosvir grew older, his scales and underbelly darkened, while Nauma's remained blue, with a clean white underbelly; in addition, she had grown more and more curious about my dead sister.<p>

I found her that morning in the main hall, sitting before a vast hanging tapestry which had been painted for House Jarnhud's honour, upon which also featured Helga Jarnhud; it was upon her illustration that Nauma's concentration was fixated.  
>"Nauma, my love, why do you devote so much of your thoughts to them? You've been neglecting your magical studies, and I do long for you show me your impressive mastery of magic once more."<br>I settled down next to my daughter, who leaned up against me as I folded a wing over her.  
>"I, I had a nightmare about them last night. Or, a dream, I don't know. It was so strange."<br>"Do you want to talk about it?"  
>She nodded. "I was in my bed, it was dark... Both of them were there, standing over me. Jotun and Helga, they were like ghosts. I tried to move, or scream, but I was too frightened. He, he just stood there, never saying anything, just watching. Helga approached me, sitting at my bedside... She... She..."<br>"What was it, what did she do?"  
>"Well, nothing, really. I told you it was strange. She just whispered in my ear. I don't even remember the words, but it was odd, soothing, my heart slowed and her presence was comforting. I drifted off soon after. It felt so, so... <em>real<em>. I can't shake it from my mind. Oh mother, I know of the gods and how spirits can visit the living. But please, tell me, what does this mean?"  
>Unbeknownst to her, I shuddered. In front that painted picture of my long-dead sister, Nauma calling <em>me <em>mother suddenly felt wrong; I'd taken my sister's rightful inheritance, her home, even her life, and now I'd stolen her daughter, and her love, from her as well.  
>"I don't know, my dear." I replied. "But worry not, it was just a dream. But if even if may have been more than that, Helga and Jotun wouldn't hurt you. I wouldn't let them. Try not to worry about it for now."<br>Nauma frowned. "How do you know they wouldn't hurt me? You battled against them. They sent children to fight and die in their war, that's how Hosvir got his name."  
>I winced. "How did you know about that?"<br>"Father told me."  
>"Finn." I sighed. "When you're older, I shall tell you more of them when you are older, I shall take you to Castle Jarnhud, and then I might be able to show you what he looked like... By the gods, was he ugly. Blue and white, like his wife, he was scarred, with only one horn, for the other had been ripped from his head! He was proud though, putting up tapestries and statues of himself across the castle."<p>

**Some more years passed, twenty dragonyears of happy nothingness brought us to the 12th Century, and my life to its middle years; I was not a young dragon anymore, I was nearly 50 dragonyears old, and most of my children were adults themselves.  
><strong>  
><strong>However, despite my best efforts, I couldn't help but feel that Nauma didn't quite take my attempts to make her lose her interest in Jotun and Helga to heart. But nonetheless, life continued: She did return to her magical studies somewhat, but by this point in their lives, both Nauma and Hosvir had become very distractible.<strong>

Isete had come to visit, bringing her twin children with her. It had become a regular occurrence for Isete to put her husband as regent while she travelled to The Freezer for a friendly visit for herself and her kids; while my doors and my feasting hall were always open to her, I knew in part why she did this: I hadn't forgotten about her desire to marry her daughter to my son, and so getting them to become close at an early age would certainly make this easier, and for the most part, it had worked.  
>"Nauma, wherever is your brother?" I asked that bright and cloudless afternoon, for he had skipped lunch once again.<br>"Do not fear, my friend." Isete interrupted. "He is with my daughter. He wanted to take her on a walk around the forests further south, for it is such a lovely day."  
>I sighed, downing a glass of wine. "I know what you're trying to do. Don't you think Karelia is a little young?"<br>Isete chuckled. "Maybe she is for now. It's not unheard of for there to be such large gaps between betrothed dragons. I shan't allow either to take the other into the bushes and marry them in the dirt before her first heat."  
>"I know, I know..." I sighed. "I've just been worrying about things recently." I turned to my kids. "Nauma, Dagmaer, Amora. Leave us, I'd like to speak in private with the queen."<br>Isete nodded. "Faron, go with them."  
>"Yes mother." her son nodded, running after the girls as they left. I poured myself another glass of wine: Difficult topics were always easier to speak about with alcohol flowing inside.<br>"I'm worried, about Nauma" I confessed. "She spends all of her days losing herself in books about my kinslayer sister and her evil husband. Helga is... She's Nauma's kin. I fear that, one day, this obsession will really hurt her."  
>"The past is the past." Isete commented. "And your past has been harder than most, but Nauma was born safely away from those horrors. How do you fear this might hurt her?"<br>I sighed; I dreaded to tell Isete the truth, if I was to ever tell the truth, I wanted Nauma to be the first to know; but I was at a loss, so I downed yet another glass of wine, and told my tale. "On the night I defeated Helga and Jotun, Helga told me to go to her bedchambers, alone. So, I did. In those chambers... I..." I felt my eyes go wet. "...I found an, an egg."  
>Isete froze. "But I was always told Helga had no children."<br>"She didn't." I croaked, wiping my eyes and they leaked. "...I, _I had twins._"  
>It took a second for Isete to figure it out, but once she did, her mouth dropped, and she quickly went to hug me as I broke down. "She's Helga's! Not mine!" I sobbed in the wings of my old friend. "She wasn't even out of the egg and I killed her mother and father! I, I nearly killed her too! The thoughts were in my head, my own kin!"<br>Isete held me tightly, both her wings and her forelegs holding me in a warm embrace, which helped. She worded her response carefully. "...She's Helga's offspring, but she's your daughter. She was such a danger to you, vengeful maybe for killing her parents, a challenge to your dynasty in that she would've had the strongest claim to everything your family owned. But you took her in when she needed someone, and you gave her your love..." She sighed. "Now, she reached an age where she might understand the truth. Danthe, you have to tell her. It'll be better if she hears it from you, sooner rather than later..."

**I was at a loss. Isete was right, even if it hurt, I had to tell Nauma the truth. It was going to be painful for us both, I feared she'd never forgive me for it, but she had to know, she was old enough now. Talking to Finn didn't help, he shared my concerns, but also Isete's sentiment, Nauma had to be told, I just had to work up the nerve.**

**I decided I would tell her when the family and I went south to Castle Jarnhud for the winter, a time when Queen Isete and her royal family had decided to take a tour of their kingdom (the official reason being to keep an eye on House Horn, though they would be visiting each of the Sekeolasian provinces in due course). The old castle had a more pleasant climate compared to the Freezer in all seasons; the alpine grasslands of Jarnhud was caked in snow, but the air was clear and crisp. Relics and memories of Helga and Jotun were strong within its stone walls: Pictures, tapestries and statues to Jotun's vanity once littered my mother's halls; now, all but a few were gathering dust, locked away in a forgotten chamber deep within the castle.**

I found myself sitting the courtyard one morning, watching Finn sitting with Dagmaer (who was now in her mid-teens, and had grown to be an extremely lean, elegant beauty, with a voice like silk and a laugh warm enough to melt the glaciers, just as I hoped) and Amora (who was roughly 11 dragonyears of age, and had grown into quite a brave, adventurous, if slightly short and stocky young dragoness), casually chatting and laughing as he told them stories; Amora happily snuggled into her father's chest, she and Dagmaer were very close indeed.

I wanted to speak to Nauma (who, along with her brother, was now in her mid-20s), but at every opportunity, she seemed too busy to speak, running around, numerous books bulging from her satchels as she went; her face always looked deep in thought. I wished she would slow down, just for a moment, so I might be able to speak to her. Hosvir was even worse, for I rarely saw him at all. It was heavy on my heart for both my eldest children had grown so distant.  
>I chose to go to my husband and our younger children; perhaps Finn had some clue as to where I could find my older children?<br>"...And then she pushed Old Gauti to the floor, and we all started singing. A dragon warrior, bested by a younger dragoness. Gods be good, she was so fast back then." I caught Finn speaking as I joined the conversation. "Oh, hello there my darling. What troubles you?"  
>"Finn, have you seen Nauma or Hosvir anywhere?" I asked, sitting among them. "I've barely seen them all day. I worry."<br>My husband sighed, nuzzling my cheek. "Last I heard, Nauma was in the library, running between it and her bedroom. Hosvir? Apparently he's gone hunting. Though, if I'm honest, he went alone, and took no hunting gear. Either he's overconfident, or he's up to something."  
>"I wouldn't put it past him. His head has been all over the place lately. Same with Nauma."<br>Finn frowned. "...I have an idea as to why you're looking for Nauma. Are you..."  
>"Yes, yes I am. Or I will be, once she slows down enough for me to speak to her."<p>

My answer to where Nauma was pried from her at dinner. The elder children bore two severely difference faces as the family sat down to dinner: Nauma face was strained, heavy with exhaustion and stress, but Hosvir seemed very pleased with himself indeed, bubbling with a sort of confused pride, like a ship captain sailing into unexplored waters for the first time.  
>"Nauma my dear." I spoke to the dragoness, who poked aimlessly at her food. "Where have you been all day? I've missed you."<br>"I've been... Reading." Nauma grumbled.  
>"Ah, I heard you were seen in the library today. What were you reading about?"<br>"Jotun..."  
>"Oh."<br>"He's... He's vile." Nauma stammered. "A dirty, horrible, evil monster. A plague of atrocities from York to old Holmgardr. Burning, stealing, looting, raping and killing people. So many dragons of House Stormsson are concubines born out of rape. I, I hate him. And Helga Jarnhud loved that... that _monster._" She shook her head, listlessly tossing away what remained of a join of ham. "I'm sorry, I've lost my appetite..." She stood up and left the table, leaving me and Finn to stare at each other, concerned.

"Poor thing." Finn commented. "I hate seeing her like this."  
>I nodded. "I hate seeing her like this too. I wish she would just talk to me about whatever is troubling her. I'd do anything if it might help settle her nerves." I sat up. "I should go to speak with her, right now. I'm going to take her to one side, and just talk. It has to be worth a shot, right?"<br>Finn stood too. "Do you want me to...?"  
>"No, no. You stay here with the kids. They'll fight over who gets the most dessert otherwise."<br>My husband feigned a smile under the duress of his present company. "Of course, my love. I'll save you some for when you return."

Oh, how many disasters must start from good intentions? I got up to follow Nauma after a concerned nod from Finn, giving me the instruction to "Give her a hug from me" as I headed to the doors out of the dining hall after my daughter. She had gained a considerable lead over me with her quick feet and light frame, however, my hearing was still very keen: I heard her paws hitting the floor with each trot, her claws clicking in rhythm against the stone cobbles. Torchlights flickered in the corridors as I followed the noises of her movement, until the sound of a heavy door creaking open echoed forth, followed by it slamming shut shortly after. I was lead deeper into Castle Jarnhud: Down a corridor, then another, and up a spiral staircase, nearly all the way to the top; there were two more corridors, but only one had its door left ajar, moving slightly from the momentum of when it was thrust open. Following down as the sun began to set and the winds picked up outside. Finally, I froze outside out of the doors down the corridor. On the floor, next to the chunky stone doorframe, there was a lock, which had been forced open and discarded; on the other side of the door, I head pacing, frantic and flustered, with that same padding of paws and clicking of claws, but there was something else, a different sound: A sniffle, and a slight sob, as though the inhabitant was upset or frightened. I knew who it was, and wasted no more time entering, quickly wishing I hadn't.

Inside was a storage room, vast and full: Leaning against both the walls at my sides were countless paintings covered in cloth canvas; a few moth-eaten tapestries hung from the walls and painted stone statues of Jotun the Perisher dotted the room. Many of these things were caked in a thick layer of dust, save for a few choice items huddled around a collection of small, flickering candles in the centre of the otherwise dark room... Where Nauma stood, her eyes bloodshot and wet with tears as she stared at the largest tapestry of Jotun and Helga. His large, green eyes stared from the fabric, right into Nauma's: It was impossible not to see the likeness between the two dragons immortalised in illustration, and the young dragoness with secret blood flowing in her veins.

She turned to me, the similarities in appearance between Nauma and her late father were clear to see: Her scales were so close in colour to his, her underbelly and wings were a perfect match for shade; her eyes were _his _eyes, and they bore into me like knives.  
>"W-who are they to me?" She croaked. "Tell me! <em>Who are they?!<em>"


	4. Act Four: Inheritance, Part One

**Act Four**

**Inheritance**

**Disaster. I was too late: Nauma had pieced it all together before I had the chance to tell her the truth. Those countless days of her running around, studying Jotun and Helga, looking and their pictures and their statues, and using the magic she inherited from her father, her **_**real **_**father, had melded together to reveal the lie she was told by those she thought were her parents. Her face looked as though the world had vanished from beneath her feet.**

"Well!?" She cried. "Tell me!"  
>My jaw flapped open and closed, words failed me as my mouth went dry and my stomach performed acrobatics within my body. I felt all my fears and dread of <em>this very moment <em>welled behind around my eyes.  
>"Nauma..." I spoke, my tone crushed under the weight of my daughter's imminent pain. "...I'm I'm so sorry." I felt my weight shift as I slumped to the floor, my legs too shaky to stand. "...When, when I went to do battle with Jotun the Perisher and Helga, I defeated them, but..." I faltered. "...Helga had an egg, Nauma. And that, that egg..." My words faded, I didn't need to say the rest, Nauma had already broken down in tears.<br>"...It couldn't!" She sobbed. "I'm not hers! Take it back! Take it back!" He burrowed her wet fact into her paws as the crying intensified. "Please just take it back!"  
>I approached, wanting to hug her, to comfort her, to do anything I can to try to make her feel better. But as I did, she backed away, her eyes were heartbroken, furious, utterly broken. "Keep away from me!" She screamed. "You lied to me! You made me believe that I was your daughter, when I wasn't! I'm the daughter of a monster! I, I, I'm this sort of, what, an <em>abomination<em>?!"  
>"You're not an abomination. Don't say that."<br>"Then what AM I? I'm the spawn of a barbarian and a kinslayer!"  
>"You're nothing like them. You're not. You're my daughter."<br>"But am not! **You're not my mother!**"  
>The room descended into a painful silence, it cut into me worse than Jotun's claws ever did.<br>"Nauma..." I spoke, my tone begging as I tried again to approach.  
>"I said KEEP AWAY!" She shoved me, with strength I, and even she, didn't expect to have. It still wasn't terribly strong, merely pushing me into a wall, but it got me out of the way long enough for her to make a break for the door.<p>

After a search, I found her locked inside her bedroom, crying to herself, and refusing to let Finn, who was sitting outside her door with a distressed look on his face, in to speak with her, regardless of his protesting. He looked at me, it didn't take him long to figure everything out.  
>"She figured it out?" He spoke. I didn't say anything in response, I simply nodded. "Gods be good to her poor heart."<br>"I don't care whose blood is in her veins." I whimpered as he came over and hugged me. "I don't. But... Even in death, Jotun find a way to be cruel to everyone around him. You have been there for her from the day she hatched! Every bad dream, you laid a wing over her and let her sleep alongside the warmth of your belly. Every graze and bruise, you were there! You told her stories and taught her! All your kindness, you're more of a father than Jotun would ever be! And because of that, these wounds hurt her all the more! It just isn't _fair_!"  
>Finn said nothing as he held me in his wings, his head brushing against mine; he didn't want it to be seen, but I felt warm droplets drip onto the side of my neck, near the side of his head, and I knew this hurt him too.<p>

Suddenly, we heard the flapping of wings approach the castle. It wasn't Nauma, she was still crying in her room. Both me and Finn looked up: The sound settled with a final flutter of wings, it came from Hosvir's room.  
>We quickly made our way to his chambers, pushing open his doors: He stood there, staring in surprise and covered in snow from the outside blizzard.<br>"Hosvir!" I barked. "Where on earth have you been!?"  
>"I..." He winced. "I was, hunting."<br>"Like hell you were!" I snarled. "Then where's your game? And why did you enter the castle through your bedroom window?!"  
>Finn sighed. "I think, I think we both have truths we have to tell each other..."<p>

**And so, the truth was ousted: Hosvir had fallen in love with Karelia Abelburben. She and her brother had been travelling with their mother, whose tour of the realm had brought her to Jarnhud. Their communications had started with him and her writing secret love letters to one another, but recently, Hosvir and Karelia had taken to sneaking from their homes to meet in secret. They hadn't mated yet, though with this news regarding Nauma, sex was suddenly pushed to the back of his priorities...**

"H-how? How could you lie to her like that?" He stammered.  
>"We did what we did to protect her." I explained. "Nauma was Helga's and Jotun's first and only child, the heir to both to Jotun's horde and Helga's kingdom. Many of those who opposed Nauma would've been baying for Nauma's blood if they knew the truth, they'd want me to kill her for being the spawn of a traitor like her. But, I couldn't. I wouldn't. I killed one kinswoman already. I couldn't do it again, not a dragoness who'd never harmed anyone or anything, and whose only crime had been to be born with an evil dragon as a father."<br>"Even if Danthe isn't her real mother, she's still family." Finn added.  
>"You don't need to tell me." Hosvir snorted. "I don't care what you say. In my heart, she's my sister, and I'm her brother." He advanced on us. "Move aside. Yes, I sneaked out to spend time with my lover, but right now. I want to be there for my sister." Finn sympathised, and stepped aside. I couldn't blame him, his love for Nauma and his pain of her hurting were stronger than his anger at Hosvir's deception.<p>

Nauma refused to let me, Finn, or even her younger siblings enter her chambers; only Hosvir was allowed entry. The rest of us could merely listen from the outside of the doors to their conversation. She knew we were there, but she didn't seem to care, and continued to cry her woes to Hosvir.  
><em>"She lied to me. They both did! Ever since the day I hatched from the egg, I've been a lie."<em>  
><em>"Shh, my sister. Come now, it'll be alright."<em>  
><em>"I'm not your sister..."<em>  
><em>"I don't care who your parents were. We grew up together. I said it to Mother, I'll say it to you: In my heart, you're my sister. You'll <em>**always **_be my sister."_  
><em>"But, but my mother, Helga... She was a kinslayer, she nearly wiped out the entire of our house. My father, he was a barbarian. He was a murderer, a rapist, and an enslaver of children. How do I deserve to be the daughter of a dragoness like Danthe, or a father like Finn with ancestors like <em>**that**_?!"_  
><em>"Oh, you are too harsh on yourself. Mother and Father knew about who gave birth to you, they knew what they did, but they loved you nonetheless. That's not going to change."<em>  
><em>"But, how can I deserve it? If I'd have been born to Jotun and Helga, gods only know what would've become of me."<em>  
><em>"I don't think that's ever stopped them from caring about you before. Why would it now?"<em>  
><em>"I... I don't know. It just hurts, it hurts so much..."<em>

**We didn't see any more of Nauma or Hosvir for the entire night: The brother stayed with his hurt and heartbroken sister until they were both fast asleep, their grief gave way to exhaustion. Hosvir was an incredibly kind dragon, and his loving protection of Nauma hadn't faded with the discovery of her true origins; however, it didn't change what he'd already committed to. Hosvir was in love, and both he and Karelia were both at an age of consent to marry; should Hosvir marry Karelia, it would make him a prince of Sekeolath, and later its king consort to Karelia, who was heir: He'd have to leave for Isete's Court in Korwin, in order to be with his new wife and future children.**

**I knew this was something which would soon happen. However, I still wanted to speak to my son about this before he went ahead with it. Me and Finn decided to wait until the heat cooled down before we took him and Nauma aside, into the now empty and quiet (save for the always burning fire) feasting hall to talk more on the matter.**

"You're LEAVING?!" Nauma cried out; she was never going to take the news of her twin brother leaving to go live at another court well, but with the recent developments, it couldn't have come at a worse time.  
>"I plan to, I want to go to the princess, kiss her cheek and ask her to marry me under the gaze of gods and stars."<br>"But I need you!" She protested.  
>"And we don't know how Isete is going to react to you and her daughter sneaking out like this. You better not be lying when you say her maidenhood is intact." I added, I knew that Isete would support the notion of marriage, but she wouldn't want her daughter and heir deflowered even a second before her time.<br>"I didn't sleep with her! And I shan't, not until she wants me to. And not until Nauma is alright. I'll write to Karelia, and explain that I'm needed at home, I'll apologise, and explain that my sister is going through a hard time and that she has to be my focus for now."  
>I sighed, I simply couldn't remain angry at my only son for long. He had a heart of gold, and it always seemed to be in the right place, but while he wasn't a genius, he had a mature and wise head on his shoulders far beyond his years; He was calm and collected, and prepared to compromise: He was truly his father's son, and would make a fine king someday.<br>"We shall have to speak with Queen Isete, once you're willing to be married to Karelia, you shall have my blessing."  
>Hosvir grinned from ear to ear, hugging me. "Oh, thank you mother!" He beamed. "I promise, I shall be a good husband and king when that happens. I'll make you proud!"<br>I smiled. "You already have."  
>"But, what about Nauma?" He asked, his thoughts returning to him.<br>"I don't want you to go." she said weakly, her face drained and grim.  
>He sighed. "Nauma, this is something I need. I shan't ever abandon you, but I can't stay here forever." He hugged her, and she melted in his arms. "...Should you ever summon me, I shall fly through the nights and the blizzards to be with you again. And I'm not even leaving yet. But someday, someday, I will need to go."<br>She sniffed. "You promise?"  
>"I swear it on my life. And even if I can't, you still have Mother and Father."<br>Nauma didn't respond to that, she simply held her brother close.

**Karelia would make a fine wife for Hosvir, although the marriage would be in her name, they'd both be very happy together; as I expected, Isete agreed, and so it would be set into motion: Karelia and Hosvir would marry, and a celebration. Needless to say, the two dragons were delighted.**

Isete and I had been friends for years beyond counting, she trusted me, and so, knowing of Nauma's plight, offered to allow Karelia to stay with us at the Freezer, on the condition that she and Hosvir return to Korwin once she lays her first clutch. As her soon-to-be mother-in-law, it was my job to make sure she was comfortable and well-tended to while she was under my roof and getting married to Hosvir; it was a job I was only too keen to throw myself into: I was going to have grandchildren!

A series of correspondence between Isete and myself, and the agreement was made, and servants soon started sending luggage to the Castle.

Upon her arrival, me and Hosvir showed the princess around the Freezer again, with Nauma quietly tagging along behind us (perhaps through a desire to with Hosvir for as long as possible before he inevitably left), before leading her to Hosvir's bed-chambers, where she'd be sleeping. Karelia smiled as she entered, climbing atop his bed and settling down.  
>"Hmm, yes, this is a wonderfully comfortable bed." She grinned. "I think this will do nicely."<br>"I'm very glad you think so." Hosvir purred.  
>"Save it until tonight." I suggested. "I shall do propose a toast for your match over tonight's feast."<br>"I don't need a feast to love my future husband." Karelia cooed. "I just need him here, next to me."  
>"He... He's quite a nice hugger." Nauma quietly squeaked, looking at her feet, she was so silent nobody but me even seemed to hear her, which appeared to be how she wanted it.<br>"Oh, but perhaps we should at least uphold my mother's wishes?"  
>"I don't need a full belly to mate with the one I love."<br>"So would you rather mate on an empty stomach?"  
>"Well, no, but..."<br>"Relax, my love. The best things are worth waiting for. I come for you tonight." He chuckled.  
>I smiled slightly. "It shall be worth the wait, Karelia. I should know, my marriage to Finn was a wondrous night. He made me so happy, I know Hosvir will make you happy too." I reminisced as I turned to Hosvir, as inexperienced in the world of romance as he was. "...She's in heat, dear. Can you not smell it in the air?"<br>He blinked. "...Oh. She does smell incredible. But, she's a princess, I thought, well, I don't know what I thought."  
>I smirked. "Well, take a big long sniff of the air. Hold it in your nose and savour it. That's no perfume. That's the smell of a dragoness lusting." I gave my son a quick hug, whispering in his ear. "Go to her. We'll toast in your name, and save you food for when you're ready to join us." With that, I turned and left, closing the door behind me.<p>

As I walked down the corridor, I heard a tiny peep from Nauma behind me.  
>"...Erm. Can, can we talk please?"<br>Poor Nauma. Her anger and her hysteria had faded by now, but she was in a real slump and quite depressed; my heart pained to see her so.  
>"Of course, my dear." I turned to face my child, who shrunk back slightly. "Oh, please don't do that. I'd never harm you, you know that."<br>"I-I know..." She stammered. "It's just... I'm really sorry, for everything. I'm sorry I wasn't your real daughter."  
>My heart dropped inside my chest as I padded over and held her, kissing her forehead. "Nauma, you don't have to apologise for anything. You may not have been born from me, but I couldn't ask for a better daughter. The years since you've hatched have been some of the best years of my entire life." This time, she made no attempt to resist me holding and cuddling her in my wings. "I hope you can forgive me. I did what I did because I cared about you, and didn't want to see you hurting."<br>"I know. I guess, I guess part of me always knew I was different." She spoke in a weak whisper. "But I didn't care, I was yours. I hope I can be yours again, I hope I can prove that I can be a worthy daughter of Danthe."  
>I smiled. "You don't need to prove anything to me." I spoke into her ear.<br>"I meant to _myself_." She spoke softly. I sighed, and held her close in my wings, my head and neck curved around her own; the corridor was cold, we were expected to attend a feast, and there were a million better places to hug my daughter, but she needed this, we both did, and we remained in each other's embrace for an immeasurable time.

Eventually, Finn came looking for us, cutting short our time in one another's company. He understood the fact she and I needed the time together, but right now, both of us were needed in the feasting hall; I promised myself I would dedicate some time to Nauma after the feast, simply sitting next to a warm fire, holding her and speaking softly into her ears as I had when she was a young hatchling.  
>The spread was rich, and yet modest: We weren't hosting a feast for many people, merely my family, Faron and the High Queen and King Sterk, who was quietly cheerful through the whole series of events; however, the variety and quality of the food was as rich as a queen of Jarnhud could provide for her liege, and her family.<br>"I am so thankful to you, Danthe." Isete spoke after polishing off her second chicken, bones and all. "Karelia couldn't have asked for a finer husband, and Sekeolath couldn't get a better king." She smiled after wiping clean her mouth with a handkerchief, which a servant quickly took to replace with a new, clean one. "You've raised your son into a fine young dragon."  
>"Your kinds words are touching, but I only did so much. My husband is a fine father, and Hosvir had a heart of gold without <em>our <em>involvement. His capacity for compassion should be told in history for centuries to come."  
>"Indeed." King Sterk nodded with a smile. "It won't be long before young Faron will be looking at getting married himself."<br>"Oh? Do you have anyone in mind?" I asked, my question broadly aimed at the three Abelburbens in my company.  
>"Currently, we're in negotiations with Queen Lucilia of Avalar, to have her daughter Antigra marry my son. She's far too young right now however. We will have to wait until she has her first heat, which won't be for many years yet."<br>"Hmm," I pondered aloud. "Prince Faron, are you familiar with the Avalarian princess?"  
>He nodded. "Yes, Queen Danthe. She's far fancier than anyone in Sekeolath, with flowers woven in her horns and always wearing pretty dresses, but she's... She's rather pretty."<br>"Indeed." Isete nodded. "Once the marriage is had, we shall have allies overseas in the Avalarians. Trade and peace will flourish." Sterk added. "It will be good for our fellow dragons in the south to have our protection. Civilised, free dragons are too few for us to be enemies."  
>"Sounds promising." Finn smiled. "Perhaps a toast should be in order?" He stood, holding a wine goblet in his forepaw. "To Princess Karelia and Prince Hosvir, and the future marriage of Prince Faron and Princess Antigra."<p>

**The pleasantries continued as Hosvir and Karelia, both giddy with joy and love for one another, tumbled down the stairs to join us; though nobody would say it, we all knew what had happened, and even Nauma appeared happy for the newly-weds.**

**As expected, Karelia became pregnant soon after, her thin, slender frame offset by her noticeable bulge in her belly, far larger than expected. Twins were coming, I could remember how Mother talked of how fat she became when she was pregnant with me and Rolf, for we too were twins; however, the size of her unlaid eggs was promising: Her babies would be lucky enough to be bigger and stronger than normal hatchlings.**

However, the problem with this blessing was, as I was _a_ _lady_, one I could empathise with; Karelia had never been pregnant before, the swelling of her gravid body was heavy, and uncomfortable. She could barely walk and had trouble finding a comfortable position to lie down in. Her instincts would kick in soon, and things would get easier for her, but it was still a difficult time for the young princess.  
>However, I wasn't worried. Hosvir divided his waking hours equally between Nauma and Karelia, though Nauma also preferred to spend a lot of time helping her brother to look after his wife, alongside a small army of chambermaids and midwives to help make the Crown Princess as comfortable as possible.<p>

"Wine." She groaned to a servant as she shuffled about. "Wine! Please, someone get me some wine."  
>"Your majesty, please." The midwife protested. "An expecting mother should never drink while pregnant."<br>"The gods don't like the decadence." Another warned. "They curse the babies in the egg. Too much indulgence and the gods might reach inside and take back the blessings they gave you."  
>I winced. It was a harsh warning to give a first-time mother, but it was based upon truth: She didn't necessarily believe the gods were involved, but too much wine or ale was <em>always<em> a bad idea.  
>"Hmpf" She snorted. "Fine, but please, I need something to drink."<br>It was Nauma who stepped up to the mark for the crown princess, quickly producing a large jug of water and pouring Karelia a goblet. Karelia thankfully took it and downed its contents as she finally reclined upon the bed.  
>"Is it always this bad?" She asked me, her head slumped into a feather pillow.<br>I frowned. "Dragon eggs aren't usually as big as yours." I mused. "However, once you lay, the worst part is over. You then have the joy of motherhood to look forward to." I smiled, flicking my gaze to Hosvir and Nauma briefly. "...And believe me, it really is a joy..."

**Eventually, everything settled and Karelia relaxed. The princess sent away the staff looking after her, so she and Hosvir might enjoy some time along together, and so me and Nauma left them too.  
>Nauma too had begun to settle down, though she was still hurting deep within; the realisation that she was born from Jotun and Helga had shaken the way she thought of herself as a Jarnhud, and had set in motion a series of events which, though I didn't know it yet, would change the line of succession, as well as utterly shake the family name to its core.<strong>

**As it was, Hosvir's and Karelia's eggs hatch a human year after they returned to Korwin. The two eggs hatched around the year of 1111, into a girl and a boy named Freja and Frey respectively. Hosvir kept in touch with his sister via written letters, but it wasn't the same as him actually **_**being there**_**...**

Nauma was lonely, it was as to be expected when her twin brother had left her. She was pretty lost for a while, spending a lot of time aimlessly wandering the castle, or sitting alone in the library. Something had to be done.  
>"Mother, what's wrong with Nauma?" Amora asked me one day. She was only ten dragonyears of age at that point in time, and so didn't quite understand everything the world had to offer; however, Dagmaer, who was 16, was far more understanding.<br>"Dafty." The older sister commented. "Nauma's lonely, she misses Hosvir. What do you expect?"  
>"Oh!" The younger squeaked. "Aww, poor Nauma."<br>"Indeed." I spoke up. "Perhaps you two should spend some more time with her? Try to cheer her up more. I mean, she's in quite a bad way right now, and she's going to need her little sisters to help her out of it. Isn't she?"  
>Amora looked down at her paws, gentled circling her claw over a cobble, as if feeling guilty for the negligence of her sister. "Yes Mother. I'll see I can make her feel better. What about you Dagmaer?"<br>"Yeah, I suppose it would be nice to talk with my older sister again." Dagmaer added. "Come on Amora, let's go." With that, Dagmaer and Amora ran off to the Library to try to cheer up Nauma.

**The two dragons did their job well, and while Nauma didn't shake how much she missed Hosvir completely, the efforts of her younger siblings held her attention long enough to make her stop thinking about him. Their antics were infectious, and Nauma found herself happily drawn into their games, and their inevitable arguments. As the years passed and the 12th Century drew to a close, she'd managed to build a bond with her younger sisters which had otherwise been far weaker before Hosvir left.**

Dagmaer had retained her beauty into her adult years and she had many features male dragons certainly found enticing: A long, slender tail with a neck of similarly elegant proportions; long, lean legs and a big wingspan. She'd grown to love mingling in royal court, and rumours emerged that she was even a bit of a flirt! However, she was at least sensible, not throwing herself into bed with the first muscular dragon who whispered sweet nothings into her ear.  
>Amora on the other hand was Dagmaer's complete opposite: She was short and chunky; though she had a pretty face, it was often dirty, for she would frequently spar with the males and accompany them on their hunting trips: She loathed the boring and tedious chatter of court.<p>

Despite this, Dagmaer and Amora were close, even if you couldn't escape their rivalry from time to time.

"Don't be daft. I'd sooner clip my wings than suffer your silly sessions of court." Amora pouted, sticking her tongue out at her older sister. "...I hate those prissy dresses. I want to be like _mother_. Going about hunting, killing bad guys and dishing out justice. You just sit in a castle all day. I saw you jump in fright when a bird flew into your bedroom one day!"  
>"I did not!" Dagmaer snapped. "And I could be a good hunter if I wanted to be!"<br>Amora scoffed. "Yeah, as if."  
>"No, I mean it. Next time the family goes on a hunt, I'll be there. If I can bring back some game, <em>you <em>have to wear dresses and act like a proper lady. I'll find you a petty dress and stick you in it for a month!"  
>The younger sister laughed aloud. "If you can bring back more game than me, I'll wear the frilliest, most girly dress you can curse me to wear. But, if I win, which I <em>will<em>, YOU have wear armour, get sweaty and grimy, and learn how to fight like a _dragon_, for a month."  
>The lean, slender dragoness flinched at the prospect, but she wasn't going to bow down now. "You're on. I might even get Nauma to put a binding curse on it, so you'd have to do all you're filthy brawling in it."<br>Nauma smirked. "Sure, that big, pink, frilly one."  
>Amora pulled a face. "What? The one with the ribbons?!"<br>"The very same. Queen Isete sent you that one on your birthday if I recall."  
>"I know." Dagmaer chuckled. "It's such a pretty thing, but Amy simply <em>hates <em>it! She only even bothered to wear it once, just because Mother told her to in order to be polite to the High Queen. Oh, please Nauma, do it. It'll be hilarious!"  
>"Nauma!" Amora squealed.<br>"Relax, Amy." She smiled. "If you win, I'll put the same curse on whatever armour you're going to force on Dagmaer. Try flirting with the pretty boys when you're covered from snout to scale in the most unflattering steel in Scandinavia."  
>I was tempted to intervene as I quietly watched from afar. Amora (or 'Amy', as Nauma liked to affectionately call her) and Dagmaer's competitions often ended up being blown out of proportion, but they always made up in the end; it wasn't the first time Nauma had put a cheeky curse on one of her siblings either. It was all good fun though, and very rarely turned nasty.<p>

On today's occasion though, Nauma was happy. It was like looking at her before she learnt of the conditions of her birth; neither of her siblings cared in the slightest if she was laid by me or Helga: They loved her, they'd always loved her, and she loved them with equal fervour.  
>The three sisters squabbled on for a while over the terms of their bet, but all I needed to know was that, on the hunts House Jarnhud and House Abelburben held together, we'd be bringing along an extra pair of wings.<p>

**As it happened, Nauma had not been as carefree as I first assumed. Thoughts had been swimming in her head about her future, coming to a decision which was actually pretty important for everyone in the family.**

...I was in my study, reading book in front of the fire, when Nauma came to see me. She entered the room with a bottle of wine, and a steaming bowl of fish stew.  
>"Hello." She spoke with a smile. "I made you some supper, if you want it? I expected you might be hungry."<br>I was, and I happily took it, its thick smell of salted cod, vegetables and a creamy roux was tantalising, and I greedily spooned it down as Nauma settled into a chair next to the fireplace.  
>"This is great!" I spoke between mouthfuls. "I never knew you could cook so well."<br>My daughter smiled. "I do what I can. One of the cooks showed me the ropes, and I got the hang of it soon enough." She paused. "Erm, could we talk, about, about the Jarnhud Kingdom?"  
>"Of course." I nodded setting down the bowl on a nearby table, curious about where she was going with this. "Go ahead."<br>"I've been thinking... I, I don't want to be your heir anymore. I don't want to be queen."  
>I froze. "What? You don't, why, why ever not? You'd make a fine queen. And in any case, <em>you're <em>the rightful heir, with the strongest claim."  
>"I know." Nauma snorted. "The reason being that Helga was the rightful queen before you, and I'm her firstborn. I'm in the running because I was her child her only child."<br>"Nauma, my dear, you'd be my heir regardless of..."  
>"But I wouldn't! I'm not your firstborn daughter, <em>Dagmaer is<em>." She responded. "She knows the intricacies of our politics, and the court _loves_ her."  
>"But you'd make a great queen. You're far more knowledgeable than Dagmaer. You've got a wiser head atop your shoulders than she does. I remarked. "And the court loves <em>you <em>too."  
>"<em>The Court <em>doesn't know my egg was laid by Helga Jarnhud." She retorted. "If they did, they'd likely hang me."  
>I snorted. "They'd have to cut downme and Finn before they so much as put the noose around your neck." I sighed. "Besides, where would you go? What would you do?"<br>Nauma paused, pondering. "...I, I'd like to serve as your Court Magician. I'm one of the best spell casters in the Jarnhud Kingdom, and I want to stay with you, rather than have go back to Jarnhud someday." She winced. "...And, I just, I can't, I don't want to be in that castle alone. Not with _their _ghosts there, _watching me_."  
>I sighed. "I see." Was my response. "Try not to worry about it for now. Let's have no more talk about succession just yet, I'm not going anywhere. But I'll see what your father thinks."<br>Nauma smiled slightly, hugging me. "Thank you... M-mother."  
>As she said that, it was as though a huge weight was taken from both my heart and hers, and she squeezed me all the tighter...<br>_  
><em>**The 13th Century beckoned, and Freja and Frey grew strong; they were wonderful grandchildren, and I loved them very much. Keen to have them see as much of me as possible, Hosvir and Karelia frequently visited The Freezer, giving the twins plenty of opportunity to get to know their grandmother. On occasion in those five dragonyears since their hatching, Queen Isete and King Sterk would bring Faron and join their daughter and son-in-law, and the two families would hold a great hunt together. As it happens, their next visit coincided with the next scheduled hunt The Freezer was due to hold.**  
><em><br>_...However, this year, Hosvir had decided to stay behind with Karelia to help look after their children who, as they weren't even ten dragonyears of age yet, were both too young to go hunting. The left a band of eight for the hunt: Me, Finn, Isete, Sterk, Faron, Nauma, Dagmaer and Amora.

Dagmaer, keen to outdo her sister, zipped about from tree to tree: Her light and slender frame proved stealthy and easy to conceal in the shadow of the forest.  
>"Don't run off too far." I warned her as the family trooped through the woods. "Keep to the rabbits and smaller critters for now."<br>"Yeah." Amora smirked. "I'll handle the boars and big, juicy game."  
>"Gods curse you!" Dagmaer jabbed. "We made no mention as to the size of the game, I just need to catch MORE than you! I'll have you in a dress by sundown!"<br>"Like hell you will!" The younger sister yelped, darting up a particularly large tree, digging into its bark with her claws and making leaves rustle and fall from the branches as she went.  
>"I suppose there's <em>one <em>way to conceal yourself." Isete muttered, an amused smile on her face.  
>"Yeah, you're quite right, you're majesty." Nauma responded. "She's such a tiny little thing that she can hurl herself up a tree as might a squirrel."<br>"She's equally nutty." Dagmaer remarked, before being bombarded from above by broken twigs.  
>"I heard that!" Amora cried.<p>

The hunt wasn't going as well as I'd have liked, although Dagmaer had gotten into it quite quickly, bagging herself a number of small rabbits by pouncing on them and crushing them: She was ahead of Amora by three kills due to her speed, beginner's luck if Amora was to be believed.  
>"Perhaps it would be best if we split up?" I suggested as we stopped in an open clearing. "I mean, there's eight dragons all going along together. We're bound to scare off any animals we might want to catch."<br>"Agreed." Isete nodded. "Alright. We'll go in four groups of two, and meet back at this clearing by sundown."  
>So it was settled, four groups would be formed and hunt in pairs separate from one another: Me and Finn, Isete and Sterk, Nauma and Faron, and Dagmaer and Amora. Isete and Sterk would go East, Nauma and Faron would go North, Me and Finn would go south and Dagmaer and Amora would go West; each pair were given hunting horns, and would blow them as loud as possible if any pair got lost or ran into trouble, and the others would come to find them.<p>

I could remember what I was like when I was but an adolescent of 17 dragonyears, throwing myself into danger. If that dragoness had been here, she'd probably have ran ahead and killed several game already, but she'd be cut and bruised and filthy. However, now, I was walking with Finn through the woods, broken beams of sunlight piercing through the lines of tress. In all honest, neither of us really cared as much for hunting as we did simply strolling in each other's company: We'd simply put it down to us not finding anything.  
>"Finn." I spoke suddenly. "We're not young dragons anymore, are we?" He couldn't lie, he was older than I was, and I was 574 now, nearly 60 in dragonyears, Finn was a few dragonyears older than me, and could soon be easily what dragons considered to be old, when their age no longer added to their strength, but instead started to rob them of it. I could feel it creeping up on me for years now: A climb up a castle tower, or a walk down a corridor which I could handle multiple times before with ease now left me tired and needing a sit down; I could still <em>fight<em>, but I was no warrior now. Then again, I hadn't been in a handful of human centuries...  
>"Does it matter?" Finn asked. "You're the dragoness I fell in love with, and that's all I'd ever want from you. I wanted us to grow old together, and we have. We've got a household full of wonderful children, and we'll have grandchildren very soon as well. I've lived a very long and happy life, I wouldn't change any single part of it, least of all you."<p>

Time passed, and we did indeed manage to catch a few wandering deer, though the actions weren't our priority other than simply spending time together. Finn was never a particular good hunter, and with my creeping age, the desire to slaughter wandering animals had faded; still, I was stronger than he, and I was happy to haul the carrion...

Suddenly, a horn blast shattered the silence and my mouth went dry: It had come from the west.

Tossing aside the deer corpse, me and Finn darted in the direction of the noise, meeting with Nauma and Faron as we heard screaming.  
>Amora and Dagmaer had wandered into a more dangerous part of the woods, and disturbed a cave of bears. In their panic, a bloody Dagmaer had slaughtered a few of the wandering cubs, only to throw the mother bear into a murderous rage, now it charged at her and Amora!<br>The two dragons sprayed ice at the attacking creature, merely slowing it, forcing them to jump to the side as it attempted to bite them: Amora was out of the way, and clambered up a tree in fright.  
>"Mother! Help!" She cried, clocking me. "It's after Dagmaer! She hunted its babies!"<br>I dashed towards the bear as fast as I could! But no! A loose root was caught my paw, and I tumbled to the floor, striking my head against the trunk of a tree, knocking me into a concussion and blurring my eyesight!  
>I wobbled on my back, pain in my leg and head, hearing screaming, and the roaring of the furious bear. The irony of dragons, the kings and queens of predators, struggling to fell a single bear was a terrible thing indeed, a horror I would live with forever: My vision sharpened, just in time to see the bear pounce upon Dagmaer, who screamed as the bear bite down on her chest with its large teeth!<br>"NO!" Finn roared, jumping at it and pulling it away, biting and scratching at it, his weak frame barely holding on as the bear left its victim and turned to Finn, sinking its jaws down on his foreleg and shaking, as if to tare the limb asunder!

Without warning, a lump of ice the size of a chair shattered against the bear, and then Nauma had her chance to engage the predator, forcing it to the floor, roaring at the top of her lungs!  
>"Die, die DIE!" She screamed. "How DARE you hurt my family!" Conjuring ice blocks over her paws like mallets, she brought them down across the bear's face as if she was hammering nails! Again! Again! Over and over in a frenzy as she beat it to death, tears in her eyes as she screamed and screamed! Only stopping once Faron pulled her from the corpse.<p>

Climbing to my feet, Amora, the wounded Finn and I sped over to Dagmaer, who lay on her back; her wings torn and her chest baring a deep bite and the tears of claws.  
>"Momma!" She cried as Isete and Sterk finally joined us. "Oh, help me please! It hurts!"<br>"Help her! Please! You've got to save her! You have to!" Amora sobbed, her tearful face horror-struck at her sister's mortal injuries.  
>My paws trembled as I held my daughter. "Everyone, we have to get her back to the castle! NOW!" I screamed, my paws as soaked in blood as the forest floor where she lay...<p>

**It marked the worst day of my life. The hunt was abandoned, the game wasn't even picked up, it didn't matter. We rushed our injured back to Castle Jarnhud as quickly as we were able, Dagmaer quickly taken to the castle infirmary...  
>...It was hopeless, in my heart, I knew. The bear had torn her from neck to rear, and had bitten deep into her ribcage and the soft, unprotected underbelly. Even I wouldn't have survived that...<strong>

And so, Dagmaer Jarnhud died in the year 1201, surrounded by her family. She'd been given opium to numb her pain, but the injuries and the loss of blood could never have been healed. I wanted to cry, cry my eyes out and mourn, and I would, alone: Amora needed a shoulder to cry on, nobody had taken the death worse than she.  
>"It's my fault!" She howled in my arms. "It's all my fault!"<br>"No." I croaked. "No, it isn't. Don't say that."  
>"BUT IT IS!" She cried between sobs. "It should've been me! Not her! She'd still BE HERE if I wasn't so stupid! I should never have made her come hunting with us! Oh! Please forgive me Mother! I'm so sorry!"<br>"Hey, it's alright." Finn spoke, trying to be strong too, despite the pain of his own injuries, which had been bandaged, but continued to bleed. "...Remember. The body may be dead, but your sister isn't gone forever. Her spirit lives on, if not in our hearts and memories. She's just... Sleeping, for now. And we can go speak to her again later, in the crypt..."

The tragedy kept Isete and her family at Castle Jarnhud a little longer, and they offered to pay for the funeral, out of respect for my family. Dagmaer's body was stitched up and cleaned, and clothed with her favourite dress: A long, blue elegant Avalarian-made gown which flowed from neck to tail; her claws painted white and a crown of golden bands and sculpted flowers rested upon her forehead. She looked... Peaceful, young and beautiful, as if in a deep sleep.  
>She was too young to be down here, in a dark and cold crypt, surrounded by skeletons. Both House Jarnhud and House Abelburben stood to honour her as she was lowered into her tomb. We were all dressed in black, save for Amora, who'd worn a black armband over a pretty pink dress, lined with white lace ribbons, "She won the bet, it's what she'd have wanted." Amora later told me: The death had really hurt her; she wore different armour which would suit the dress better, and had it enchanted to be tougher and easier to clean, but she wore it every waking hour, and never wore anything else ever again: It reminded her of Dagmaer, and she clung to the happier memories like a man stuck in a sinking marsh, desperately holding onto reeds for dear life.<p>

**The hunt marked a turning point for me. Up until that terrible day, my life, on whole, had been good, and the world had given me many things to make my life happy. However, from that point on, the world had decided to reach into my life and take back some of those things which I valued most.**

**The burial of Dagmaer had been a few days after the hunt, and was followed by another feast, where the Abelburbens and a number of Dagmaer's friends had come to mourn her passing...**

...Some people viewed it as an opportunity to celebrate Dagmaer's life, and all the happiness her life brought to the people who knew her. It was the prevailing mood of the feast, but it simply didn't sit right with me. How could be people laugh and chatter and smile when a dragoness like Dagmaer had died?! How could I simply sit here and pretend everything was going to be okay after watching her writhe in pain as she had done?!

I couldn't handle it. I stood, and left the table, trotting at a quick pace out of the feasting hall: I needed some air.  
>"Danthe, wait!" I heard Finn call from behind me. I turned, and saw him limping after me, wincing from the wounds under his bandages. I stopped, slumping against a wall.<br>"I can't sit in there." I sighed. "...It's no good. How can people have even a semblance of happiness after what happened?!"  
>"I don't know." Finn spoke, sitting next to me, his wounded foreleg held tightly to his chest. "We just have to try to make the best of it. It'd hard, I know, but she'll be in our hearts, and we'll all see her again someday." As he spoke, he couldn't help but wince no matter how hard she tried to conceal it: He was in pain.<br>"Finn, are you alright?" I asked.  
>"Yeah, yeah." He responded, feigning a smile. "Just a scratch."<br>I wasn't convinced, I wanted to see the wounds. Reaching for the bandage, I slowly unwound it, and pulled it away...  
>I gasped in shock as I saw the wound: It smelled foul, and was infected.<br>"Finn!" I cried. "Look!" I placed my paw on his forehead. "You're burning up!"  
>"I, I didn't want to worry you, not until after the feast." He spoke, his tone sounding far more tired now he wasn't putting on airs.<br>"We have to get you to the infirmary." I spluttered, panicking. "Come on!"

I dragged him to a bed, where one of the healers looked over the wound. It had been left far longer than it should have ever been, and had caused Finn to become very ill. His condition had gotten worse, quickly. I didn't like where everything was going: I couldn't lose him too!  
>"You're majesty..." The healer spoke. "...There, there's only really one way we can save his body from this infection. We need to lose the foreleg."<br>My jaw dropped. "You, you'll cripple him!" I cried. "You can't! There must be another way!"  
>"We don't know how much of his body has suffered this corruption." The healer replied. "We have to try, we don't know how much longer he has.<br>"Finn..." I spoke, the words emerging stilted and silenced by fear.  
>"I, I don't need four legs to love you." He spoke weakly.<br>I nodded, turning to the healers. "Please, just, do what you have to, please save him." I begged.

**The amputation was hell. They gave him opium, but it didn't numb the pain enough to stop him screaming in pain as the healers were forced to cut off the infected limb. It took another three of my guards to hold him down so the healers could do their work. There was so much blood everywhere, it made me want to be sick seeing my beloved Finn suffer so.  
>After what felt like an eternity, the limb was lost, the stump bandaged with rags, but they couldn't replace the blood he'd lost, nor did the bandages look especially <strong>_**clean...**_

He lay in bed, trembling like a leaf. His body was weak, the light had left his eyes: His suffering was heart-breaking. I wanted to do something, anything, just to end it for him.  
>And so I sat at his bedside, refusing to leave for anything. I'd had my children informed of Finn's plight, and they'd come to see him a couple of times; however, I refused to let them stay, I didn't want them to see him suffer so.<br>"I..." he coughed, a deep, rattling cough. "...I can remember the first time we met. It, it was a feast. We were all so merry, and you challenged your marshal to a duel, and utterly wiped the floor with him."  
>I smiled meekly, holding back tears. "Yeah, you, you sung for me."<br>"I did, and I'd sing for you again." He wheezed.  
><em>"...Let's sing in the name of our lady Danthe<br>whose speed and her strength will win any day!  
>Poor Gauti the marshal, so short and so stout<br>poor Gauti the marshal, whom she pushed about!  
>We sing for our lady, whom forever henceforth<br>we sing for our lady, the Queen in the North..."  
><em>His rendition was far more difficult to sing than the first time; his tone was weak, fading...  
>"You can't die on me." I croaked. "Please, just, fight this. You have to fight it... I <em>need <em>you. I, I can't do this without you."  
>"My love..." He whispered. "Don't worry. It isn't death, it's me taking a long sleep. And I'll be with you again when I wake."<br>"It's _goodbye._" I sniffed. "I don't want you to go. You can't leave me." I wiped tears from my face.  
>"It isn't." He mouthed. "I'm... I'm going to keep<em>... Keep our daughter company...<em>"  
>He exhaled deeply one final time before laying back on the bed, closing his eyes.<br>"Finn." I croaked, the floodgates opening. "Finn!"  
>He was silent, a haunting silence which pulled me apart.<br>"Finn..." I sobbed, burrowing my head into his chest. "...No, no please! _Finn..."_

**It was hopeless: He'd gone to be with Dagmaer, he couldn't hear me now.**

**Oh, how my children cried at the passing of their father. How could the gods see fit to rob a family of two of their kin in the same year, within days of each other? My heart was broken: Dagmaer's passing had created a crack, Finn's passing tore the heart in two, running away into the afterlife with half of it; without him, I would never be whole, never.**

Without Finn's kindly tone, his wise, fulfilling, sometimes amusing but always happy conversation and his warmth, the passing years felt like a chore. They were empty without him, and I spent many of my days in the crypt of Castle Jarnhud, travelling for days from the Freezer just to sit there, at his grave. I'd speak to it, telling his bones of how the world had changed since his death, feeling a sense of comfort whenever I did, as if he was somehow hearing me, and quietly listening.  
>My new steward, a Finnish dragon named Aku, wasn't half the dragon Finn 'Av Danthe' (as he liked to call himself) had been: He was good with numbers, and he tried to be kind and supportive, but he was sloppy and clearly hoped I had a thing for stewards; he would never be the dragon my late husband was.<p>

The century passed with little of value or joy: Hosvir was gone, he had a family in Korwin now; Dagmaer was gone, taken long before her time; Finn was gone, robbed from me by Ro'Imgodi's blight, forever I would damn his name! With my family cut so short, the castle felt empty, and as cold as it had felt when I sat among ruins in a winter blizzard.

I didn't care for crowns and Sekeolasian politics, but Finn kept me going through it; his skill and his good humour made light of otherwise hard work. With his passing, I barely lasted a year before my work grew more than I cared to handle.  
>"Wait, you're <em>abdicating?!"<br>_I'd summoned Isete to The Freezer to discuss my intentions, she was certainly shocked to learn what I planned to do; she sat opposite me in my study, in shock.  
>"Yes, my queen." I nodded. "I can't cope anymore. I'm getting older, and without Finn, it's just too much. I don't think I can handle the crown anymore, nor do I want to."<br>"But I need a queen to oversee the Jarnhud kingdom." The high queen protested. "Who will rule in your place?"  
>I paused. "...My daughters. One of them will inherit the kingdom. I'd like it to be Nauma, but..."<br>"But what?"  
>"...I don't think she wants to be queen. I may have to give it to Amora. Or, Nauma will just give it to her. I can't stop her if she does."<br>Isete sighed. "I suppose I can't force you to remain queen. We're not young dragons anymore... I can feel it in my bones." Her face crumbled into a frown. "Soon, it'll be time for me to rest, and Karelia will take up the mantle." She sighed, puffing up her chest in resilience. "But until that time comes, I shall sit upon my throne, and keep it warm for when my daughter comes to take my place..."

**And so, in 1212, my reign as Queen of the Jarnhud Kingdom came to an end. However, I had one last tough choice to make...**

"Mother, please." Nauma protested. "I told you that I didn't want to be queen. Make Amora the queen! She'd be far more worthy of it than me!"  
>I sat upon my throne for the last time, court was abuzz, and my two living daughters stood before me; Nauma had positively dragged her before my on her 'coronation'.<br>"Both of you would make fine rulers." I conceded, tired. "...Nauma, you and Amora are my two only living daughters. Hosvir cannot take our kingdom, for he will soon be king of Sekeolath."  
>"What about this?" Amora asked. "We leave it up to Court? They'll vote if they want me, or Nauma. They're the ones who are going to have live with our reign in the end regardless."<br>I sighed. Amora was clever; she'd been willing herself to go to Court in Dagmaer's place ever since she died, out of some sense of duty to do so. I hated to see her compromise what she loved out of guilt, but it had the advantage of meaning that she had made herself quite popular with my noblemen; Nauma by comparison rarely left my side, and didn't really mingle very much: She was never an especially gregarious dragon. Still, it was a reasonably wise decision...  
>"Very well." I spoke. "Noblemen of my court. Who shall be your next queen? Stand if you wish for it to be Nauma, remain seated should you wish for it to be Nauma. This choice is yours."<p>

...A number of lords rose, but, as part of me expected, the majority remained in their seats: The decision was made.

"That settles it." I stood, shaking slightly, as was Amora. "Princess Amora Jarnhud."  
>"No." She spoke. "Amora <em>Av Danthe<em>... It's the name Father would have wanted us to have."  
>I grimaced at the mention of Finn holding back the flow of feeling at his notion to name a house after me. "...Apologies. Amora Av Danthe, I name you Queen of Jarnhud, may you reign justly and truly for the good of the kingdom, and the realm of Sekeolath."<br>Gingerly, I removed my iron crown, a gift from my late brother so long ago, and placed it at my daughter's brow; it suited her, resting comfortably atop her head, looking regal.  
>"Thank you, mother." Amora bowed, smiling and bubbling with pride before turning to face the crowd. "Thank you, great nobles of Jarnhud. I swear to serve you well. And..." She turned to Nauma. "In my first act as queen, I name Nauma as my duchess of Castle Jarnhud."<br>"What?" Nauma yelped, her eyes wide. "But, what, why?"  
>"I don't believe you didn't want to be queen." Amora stated. "I believe that all stemmed from your hurting many years ago. You don't hold yourself in the regard you should. You're my sister, and you're better than you know. So let's rule this kingdom, together."<p>

**I decided on that day that I would go with Nauma to Castle Jarnhud, leaving The Freezer to Amora; there were too many ghosts of loved ones at both castles, but at least Castle Jarnhud had the family crypt, where I could mourn in peace.**  
><strong><br>Amora made a far courtlier dragoness as queen than she ever made as a mere princess. She was, as part of her duties as queen, required to hold court and put up (and **_**put up with**_**) courtiers from across the realm and beyond.**

**It was through this duty that Amora found someone to fall in love with.**

**His name was Borgar the Brave, the only son of the mighty Karl Ragnarsvän. Borgar was a Swedish black fire dragon (which was a rare sight this far north!). The story goes that he sent to represent the emerging Kingdom of Sweden in Sekeolath; however, following a disagreement between him and his father, he renounced his loyalty to Sweden, and threw himself before the feet of the Queen of Sekeolath; she granted him citizenship, but sent him away, where he took up mantle as a courtier in Castle Jarnhud. His muscular appearance was grizzly, battered and scarred, but he was clever, and he was kind: He may have looked like Jotun, but his heart was like Finn's. One thing that concerned me was Borgar's faith: He was a dragon who bowed to Christ, not The Ancestors; nevertheless, I blessed the couple, though Borgar refused to marry Amora until they had a proper ceremony to celebrate their matrimony.**

Borgar's idea of a wedding was... Formal, to say the least. Amora had removed the armour from her dress, and replaced her helmet with a veil; Borgar presented her with a golden ring (while he would retain one identical), and one of the holy men of his faith said a few words, and then, in the eyes of Borgar's god, they

_**were**_** 'married'. **_**King **_**Borgar would then marry her **_**properly **_**the night following, and she was soon gravid.  
><strong>  
><strong>However, what I remember as clearly as the wedding was its guests: It was the last time I ever saw Isete or Sterk.<strong>

**Queen Isete died at the dawn of the 14th Century, after dying in her sleep. Sterk, heartbroken, took his own life shortly after, rather than live the remainder of his life without his beloved wife. Karelia would take Isete's place as Queen of Sekeolath. It didn't make any of us feel better though: Isete was an almost universally beloved queen, the founder of our nation, and the unifier of the three Great Houses through fire and family.**

**I continued to grow older, and Nauma became somewhat of a carer for me. Through my age, I'd become a burden, and I hated every minute of it.**

My body was weaker and more frail than it had ever been, perhaps that's why, by the time of my Autumn years, I ended up getting myself hurt.  
>I'd grown sick of sitting around, doing nothing, and so I attempted to help my daughter as much as possible. I remembered how she would often bring me fish stew and wine for dinner in my study, and I wanted to return the favour.<br>I didn't hurt myself in my little fishing boat, catching the cod I would need.  
>I didn't even hurt myself cutting it up or cooking it.<br>I hurt myself when I attempted to bring it to her; it required an ascent up a large spiral staircase to her chambers. However, as I attempted to climb, I suddenly felt something frightening: My front foreleg, which I'd been using to hop from step to step, went lime and gave up on me, causing me to fall, and tumble down the stairs with a loud clatter! When I hit the bottom of the stairs, I went unconscious, and woke up again, hours later, in an infirmary bed, with Nauma sitting over me.  
>I tried to sit up, only for a sharp jolt of pain to shoot through my right wing.<br>"Easy, mother, easy." Nauma spoke softly.  
>"Oh..." I groaned, speaking sadly. "I'm sorry, my love, I wanted to make you dinner..."<br>Nauma sat at my bedside, holding my paw." You fell down the stairs. You've broken your wing. It'll take a long time for you to heal on your own, so I've sent out summons for the best magical healer dragonkind can offer us." She kissed my forehead, though I was too tired to react. "...Don't worry mother. We'll make you better."

Days passed, leaving me bed-bound. Those days turned to weeks before Nauma's healer arrived at last: she wasn't impressed.  
>"What insult is this!?" She barked as she stormed into the infirmary, a green and white dragon following behind her, clutching scrolls, books and medical herbs in his satchels. "I ask for the <em>best <em>healer! And WHO does Avalar send?! An apprentice! _An apprentice, _to heal the former queen of the Jarnhud Kingdom!"  
>"Please forgive me, your majesty." The dragon stammered. "The other healers didn't want to leave the warm climate of Avalar. They were fools, my duchess. What healer or spell caster worth their scales would refuse the opportunity to see new lands and learn from seasons magicians like yourself?"<br>His words seemed to douse her anger slightly, but Nauma was still visibly annoyed, though she swallowed that distaste quickly upon sitting by me. "Hello mother. This is Felix, he's a healer from Avalar."  
>"Hello there." He bowed to me with a smile. "I'm sorry that I'm not the master that your daughter was looking for, I know she's only angry because she cares about you." He offered her a smile too, he had quite a lovely, sincere smile full of clean, neatly grown teeth, and a good bedside manner. "But worry not. I can mend bones in a heartbeat. Just sit still, you may feel a sharp pain, but you'll feel better, I promise."<br>He turned to my side, producing a collection of growing red stones, crystals, and grinding them up in a pestle and mortar, mixing the crushed crystal into an herbal paste, causing it to glow slightly. Putting gloves onto his front paws, he proceeded to scoop up the paste, and apply it onto my wounded wing, rubbing it into the scales and skin vigorously...  
>Its effect was almost instantaneous! I yelped as my shattered wing bones seemed to take a life of their own, jumping up and fusing together under the skin at wondrous speeds! A warm, comfortingly blissful sensation pulsed from the wound, or where the wound <em>used to be<em>, as any resemblance of pain was nothing more than a memory.  
>"Wow..." I gasped.<br>"That, that was amazing!" Nauma stammered, her anger had dissipated immediately after seeing my recovery. "W-what WAS that?!"  
>"Oh, you are too kind, noble duchess." The healer named Felix bowed. "It was merely healing crystals. An Avalarian specialty. I wouldn't get too excited yet though. She still needs to give her wing rest so it can strengthen, otherwise it'll just snap again. I'm not really good enough to make a cure which would fix bones like new yet."<br>"Well, I think I owe you an apology." Nauma spoke to Felix, with far more warmth than before. "You're amazing! We really must spend time sharing our knowledge. We could learn a lot in the world of magic from each other."  
>"I would very much love to do that with you, kind duchess..."<p>

**The healer known as Felix, of the house of Clingerlinn, didn't return home afterwards: He stayed in Castle Jarnhud, and became Nauma's royal physician, and she came to spend a great deal of her time with him. She enjoyed talked with him, sharing her knowledge of magic, and soaking up his, but more importantly, after her initially thunderous reception to him, it appeared that she just seemed to like his character, and they became close friends very quickly indeed; she did still snap at him now and then when she was stressed, but their relationship was otherwise harmonious.**

As the years passed and the 15th Century beckoned, Nauma revelled in becoming even more skilled in the world of magic, her friendship baring fruits. I had a feeling that, on one end or the other, there was more than merely 'friendship' in the hearts and minds of this particular pair.  
>I hoped I was right. Nauma was the oldest of my children, but the last to actually marry. I worried she would end up lonely if she didn't find someone to spend her life with; even before she learnt the truth about her origins, she was quite a quiet dragoness, and never really interacted with other males. I took to looking for her one cool spring afternoon, with the intention to talking to her about the matter.<p>

"...And there's this one guild, back in Warfang, known as Dream Weavers." I overheard Felix explaining as I entered the library, where the pair sat at a table, a pile of books at their sides. "They've managed to retain knowledge of how to make crystals which allow their creators to enter and alter a dream for a person in their sleep. Old magic, from before the time of Lord Malefor's betrayal. I've longed to see how those crystals might work."  
>Nauma smiled and nodded. "I agree. Imagine the possibilities. Mothers could enter the dreams of their sleeping children and sooth their nightmares. It would be magic I could certainly make use of... I've been very good at conjuration, even as a little hatchling. It's proven to be useful in a fight. I..." She faltered, her most impressive spell was one she couldn't really be honest about. "...I spent a lot of my life studying the magic used by Jotun the Perisher, and, and I've gotten pretty good at replicating it."<br>"I'm afraid I don't really know a lot of your peoples' history. I'd love it if you could teach me sometime?"  
>"Only if you teach me about Avalar."<br>He smirked. "I think that could be arranged."

I wandered over and joined them. "Hello there." I greeted. "I'm sorry to bother you. I've been looking for you for a while now."  
>"Of course, Mother." Nauma grinned, inviting me to sit. "What is it you wanted?"<br>"Do forgive me." I replied. "Nauma, I was hoping I might talk with you alone for a moment?"  
>Nauma flicked her gaze briefly to Felix, then to me, and nodded. "Very well. Felix, I shall see you later."<br>"It was a pleasure speaking to you, my duchess."

Bringing her to my study, I sat, pouring two glasses of wine, keeping one and offering my daughter the other. "My darling, I notice you've become quite fond of Felix, the healer... I'm very glad to see it, but..." I took a sip of my drink as I waited for Nauma to respond.  
>"Oh, yes, he's simply smashing." Nauma smiled. "He's just such a nice guy, and I love having him around..." She blushed. "I actually see quite a lot of Hosvir in him."<br>I pondered the response, Felix would certainly have more knowledge than Hosvir, but they were both very good natured people. "I see. It's just, I'm wondering, is there anything..."  
>Nauma quickly picked up on where I was going with my conversation. "Oh!" Nauma blushing intensified. "Oh, I, I don't know. He's nice and really clever, he keeps himself very neat and well kept..." She went rather quiet. "But, he's my physician. Is, is it proper for a duchess to be interested in a physician?"<br>I smirked. "Oh, you're asking a countess who fell in love with her steward. _Love doesn't have hierarchies_, my dear, don't ever forget that." I offered Nauma a refill of her drink as she downed it in one, which she gladly accepted.  
>"...But, I... I'm just a little frightened of the prospect of trying to make something of it." Nauma confessed. "I know about marriage and parenthood that inevitably follows. I, I don't think I'm ready to be a parent yet."<br>I paused. "...But you do _like _him?" She went quiet, thinking it over for what felt like an age, before nodding. I hugged her, trying to be comforting. "Oh, darling, this is wonderful news."  
>"But what good does it bring? I don't want to mate yet."<br>"Oh, I don't mind that! I'm just happy you found someone at long last!"  
>"But what if he doesn't like me back?"<br>"Then he is a fool. But I've noticed how close you and he have gotten, I don't think it's not a mutual feeling. You just have to be honest with him, and tell him how you feel."  
>Nauma pulled away from the hug, a small smile on her face. "Thank you. Thank you for all of your help. But, what about marriage?"<br>I paused. "...I, I think, I have an idea. But not yet, I need to think it over." I gave her a quick peck on the cheek and refilled her glass one last time. "...Now, let's drink. To you, and to Felix Clingerlinn."

**I remembered Amora's and Borgar's wedding. It was an unusual affair, marrying with a ceremony, rather than a private night together in a warm bed. But what of couples who loved each other, and wanted to be together, but weren't ready for kids? I couldn't deny it: Borgar's idea of a wedding **_**might**_** just work for Nauma and Felix. A wedding to his god wouldn't do, but it didn't seem beyond the realm of possibility to me to either put a Relgimist god in the Christian god's place. I would have to speak to the court guardian about it...**

**As it was, I was beaten to the idea, by the Avalarians. It had been a few months since my talk with Nauma, when she received a letter addressed to her and our household...**

_Dear Duchess Nauma of Jarnhud,_

I am overjoyed to announce that my nephew, Zephyra Lucien, is getting married to the Avalarian noble known as Arkebus. I intend to travel south with Hosvir to Avalar to celebrate their marriage, and I would like to invite the dragons of House Jarnhud, who have been House Abelburben's closest and most trusted allies since the days of my late mother, and I have already written an invitation to Queen Amora and her husband, King Borgar the Brave.

To Lady Danthe the Avenger, I'm afraid we've never really talked much, but you were my mother's best friend, and a true friend of the family, through and through. As my husband's mother, and my mother-in-law, it simply wouldn't feel right if you weren't there. As such, I would you to accompany us, if you are healthy enough after your accident. I would understand if you're not up to it.

I look forward to seeing you all again,

High Queen Karelia of Sekeolath.


	5. Act Four: Inheritance, Part Two

**Nauma was curious to see my response to this letter after I read it through. Certainly, I liked the idea of going to Avalar: I'd heard good stories about its cities and pleasant climate; however, they had also absorbed a lot of human culture as a result of their situation: They'd long since abandoned the notion of marrying in a bedchamber, rather than in a ceremony.**

**Still, Nauma would have my answer soon: Yes, I would go with her, my family and the Abelburbens to Avalar. However, I intended to have Nauma bring Felix along; this was an opportunity which they really couldn't pass up...**

The group would meet at Korwin, in Karelia's palace. Sure enough, my entire family had been united once more: Me, Nauma, Hosvir and Amora, together again. It was a joyful reunion, with Nauma and Hosvir spending much time together, catching up with each other, telling of their lives since they'd parted: Nauma was quite excited to introduce Felix to Hosvir and Amora (who were both not quite as subtle as I in commenting on how fine a match the pair made).

Karelia's entourage was very large: A considerable retinue of servants and a handful of guards were rallied to travel with the two royal families; a fleet of large formal coaches would be the transportation method for us as we made our way to Hornholm, where we would sail to Avalar: A long journey to the Mediterranean to dock up in one of Avalar's river ports.

It would be a long trip indeed, so it didn't do to waste time: I was invited into a carriage with Karelia and her children (who were still small enough to allow for them to fit into the carriage comfortably), for Hosvir had wanted to spend time with his sister; this was a request Karelia understood, for she missed her own twin sibling, she could sympathise with Nauma's desire to spend time with her brother: He'd been Nauma's brother far longer than he'd been Karelia's husband, after all.

The carriage rumbled along the dirt roads as the horses quietly pulled them along. For all of Karelia's and the late Isete's brilliance, they hadn't yet paved the roads properly (the ice and snow made road building difficult and dangerous work!), making the journey a very _bumpy _affair. Still, there were smoother parts of the road as we left the ancestral lands of the Abelburbens, and rolled into the lands once held by the Horns: The Horns threw their lot in with the merchants and traders, and they _did _pave their roads, once, a long time ago. Once we had the benefit of smooth roads, Karelia broke open a bottle of wine, pouring two glasses full and picking at some fruit and berries, which she kept in a bowl.  
>"I trust you've never been to the City of Hornholm?" She asked me, I shook my head. "It's a very proud city, they never really thanked us for bringing them into the fold. The Horns were very wealthy, and very popular around these parts. To some lesser extent, they do still run the show in this province, or, they <em>think <em>they do..." She sighed. "I've never actually met a Horn before." She confessed. "I heard from my mother that they're an odd sort. Obsessed with elements, strength and a fervorous hatred of cowardice. They never quite forgave my family for their defeat." She snorted. "...I don't care. The Horns abandoned the weakest of their children in their quest for their dynasty to have the bravest and best dragon, as if they were disposable. I'll never respect a family would treat its weakest members with such contempt."

I sipped on my wine. I didn't understand why a parent would forsake or distance themselves from their children just because they were supposed born with certain features, and judge them for the life they hadn't even lived yet, and the character they hadn't even grown for themselves yet. It was still a creature of your flesh and blood, it was still family, it seemed wrong to me to forsake a child so... Parenthood wasn't easy, but to abandon your own flesh and blood to fend for themselves, alone? That seemed wrong to me, utterly wrong, and so very immoral to boot...

"Perhaps then you've heard of the human realm known as Venice?" Karelia spoke, keen to change the subject as she set down her empty glass, her thirst sated.  
>"I know of Venice." I nodded. "A merchant republic, near Italy."<br>"Well, Hornholm would like to think it's the Draconic Venice. It's not, it's really not. Their city is impressive, but not to that extent. However, you should still expect to have to deal with merchants who act like princes once we arrive. We'll have to take a ship to get to Avalar, but there'll be some time to kill while the sailors move our luggage aboard." she huffed to herself. "...I hate sailing."

**Upon arriving at Hornholm, it quickly became apparent just why they puffed themselves up to be a 'Draconic Venice'. Never had I seen so many stone buildings so tightly crammed together! Even Korwin had more wooden buildings and simple huts, shacks and cabins than buildings of stone; it was truly exceptional for an island so small to be so densely packed with people... **

The Isle of Hornholm was bustling with wealth and merchants from across Europe and beyond, bringing all manner of exotic goods to the city's market.  
>I didn't really feel like wandering about the markets however, I was too old to walk about as much as that now, though I asked Nauma, who was interested, to bring me something nice.<br>I waited in a very comfortable cabin aboard the ship as the crew brought my bags to me. Karelia had given the captain instructions to make sure I was well tended to, and so I soon found myself waited upon by a couple of the captain's servants, who brought me wine, cooked chicken and fine cheeses to keep me happily fed; after eating my fill, I grew tired, and took a nap...

**The bobbing of the ship was comforting; its gentle motions, and my sleep within this boxy room within the ship brought back memories, fuzzy, confused, but warm and comforting memories of when I was little more than an egg, nearly a hundred dragonyears ago.**  
><strong>...It was at first, at least. I didn't have an egg to myself, like single dragon hatchlings did. I grew up in an egg with Rolf, my brother. It was inevitable that memories of life in the egg would lead me to think of him, he who died so young. A tear escaped my sleeping eyes, crawling off my face, and dripping onto my pillow: I'd forgotten just how much I missed him, robbed of his life before his time, forcing me to go on alone; if he was still here, what would become of him? Would he have grown old with me? Would he have fallen in love, as I had, and brought more children into the world who could call me aunt? I didn't know, and could never know. All I did know was that, if I kept getting older, I'd be able to go and ask him someday...<strong>

**The ship's voyage would be a long one. I'd be spending months aboard the ship, known as the S**_**tormvind,**_** as it sailed for Avalar, I might as well try to get into a comfortable routine. Freja and Frey loved being aboard the ship, chasing each other up and down its long deck, sometimes flying in the air and between the **_**Stormvind's **_**sails and masts in a series of races to be the fastest from bow to stern.  
>It was a spectacle the human crew certainly enjoyed to watch, but it was too much action for me. I found myself taking to fishing on the deck during the day, enjoying the quiet and the peace with a fishing pole in my paws (I could've flown about and dived in to catch bigger things, but I enjoyed the calmness of rod fishing).<strong>

After a month of fish suppers, Karelia grew curious to see how I fished so well, and joined me with a fishing pole of her own. It quickly became a regular thing she and I would do together as we sailed to Avalar. After a month of sailing, we were now passing Cornwall, and approaching Brittany.  
>"We're making good progress." I spoke to Karelia, reeling in another fish.<br>"Indeed." She nodded. "Given a few more months, we should finally arrive in Avalar." A sigh escaped her. "There's something I should tell you, sooner rather than later... Don't expect Avalar's court to be like back home, because it's not." She explained. "Avalar is a vassal to a human crown, a _Catholic _monarch is the Avalarian queen's overlord."  
>"So, are the Avalarians Christian now?" I asked.<br>"No, no, of course not. But they're a people living with compromise... A compromise I fear only goes to hurt my poor brother."  
>I looked at her, worried. "What? Why would it hurt him?"<br>Again, Karelia sighed, and explained to me Faron's plight: His marriage to Queen Antigra had collapsed, and Faron, through letters to his sister, had explained that years of arguments and fighting had led the two dragons to come to hate one another, no longer feeling any love for one another. It quickly became all the more apparent as to why Karelia was so keen to take a journey of several months to spend time with her brother, who was alone in a foreign land with the only loving company being a daughter who didn't have his name. The worst part was he was trapped there: Under the human, Christian laws of marriage, his marriage was a contract, a contract he could only break if the Pope of all people granted him a divorce; such a notion that he would so much as listen to the pleas of a dragon, a heretic no less, was folly, and Faron knew it.

**The **_**Stormvind **_**was forced to dock up in a small harbour village in southern France to repair and resupply. We may have been dragons, we may have even been heretics, but we had gold, enough gold to at least supply us with what we needed as we set off for the final leg of our voyage: We'd be keeping close to the coastline of Castile and Portugal**.** Occasionally, we'd be approached by a Portuguese ship now and then, but our intentions were peaceful, and so we were left alone, even if we sometimes had to pay off some ships for safe passage through their waters.**

**The change from ocean sailing to river sailing was noticeable, but welcomed. We were sick of being on the boat by the time the **_**Stormvind **_**managed to sail into Avalar.**

I was sweating! I'd never been in a place so hot before! The Kingdom of Avalar was so warm, the sun shone so brightly in the sky, and the feeling of soft grass beneath my feet, the rustling of trees in the summer winds and the smell of flowers. Hay fever brought me out in fits of sneezing, I'd never been in air this thick with pollen before! Then again, I never saw so much greenery in one place before; behind me, the merry gushing of running water from the river Isera behind us: We'd docked at a river port authority close to the city of Warfang, the mighty capital of Avalar: A city of with spires and towers climbing into the heavens, protected by a great stone wall which ran around the entirety of Warfang, a vast barrier, preventing any attacking army from invading or so they said. Many stories circulated as to how Warfang came to be: A race of moles building a home to the dragons they worshipped; a captured Roman fort, slowly expanded into a city; a gift from the gods to give dragonkind civilization; a city built in honour of Varinia, the iconic fire guardian who, with the aid of the spirits of the Ancestors, vanquished Malefor, the Dark Master and freed Avalar of his tyranny.

The most convincing answer was perhaps that the truth lay somewhere within all those origin myths, though one thing was for certain: Warfang was a city of dragons, first populated by the draconic tribe known as the Avali, who settled in the Valley of Avalar hundreds of years ago, long before the purple dragon known as Malefor turned to darkness, believing through madness that he could destroy the world and build a new, better world in its place. It was a folly: People like Malefor didn't build Warfang, nor did they make it great; people like Malefor wanted to tear down the labours of better men, set them ablaze, and watch them burn; the world was better off _without_ such people.

**The City of Warfang was every bit as vast and impressive as stories would tell. Both street and sky was crowded with people; dragons, humans, argonians and many other intelligent creatures I'd never seen before, creating a great bustle as a million citizens went about their business.  
>The Palace of Avalar, safely behind a moat, was a magnificent structure of creamy stone bricks. A countless number of wooden windows lined the walls, soaking up light, and two grand, square towers protruded from the back of the castle, roofed with round-domed roofs laden with clay tiles. Its beauty put Castle Jarnhud, and its bare and brutal walls, to shame.<strong>

The second Karelia saw her brother, any notion of formality went out the window as they ran to one another and hugged, embracing each other fondly and tearfully.  
>"Oh, Karelia!" He wept. "Dear, sweet sister! How I have missed you so!"<br>"I've missed you too Faron." The Sekeolasian queen spoke in a shaky tone, clutching him tight until they finally parted.  
>"Karelia, my dear..." He spoke, his tone rapidly deflating, leading her to the thrones where two red dragonesses, and a large, green dragon sat: One older, and looking thoroughly miserable, and younger, prettier dragoness, who wore more clothes than a human (including an odd sight; on her front feet, gloves, on her back feet, a pair of slippers! Made of green silk, the shoes and gloves matched her dress; a very odd custom indeed!) and was happy in the company of the green. "Please, allow you to meet my wife, her majesty the queen." Queen Antigra didn't comment, simply watching Karelia with bored contempt. "...My darling daughter, Zephyra, the Crown Princess of Avalar." The younger dragoness was far friendlier, waving her front paw with a smile. "And her fiancé, Prince Arkebus, first son Lord Valengeth and Lady Aceline, head of the noble house Groenvleugel and Baroness of Priva."<br>"It is an honour to meet the ancestors of my father in law." The noble dragon greeted, maintaining the formality which Faron had only now started to pick up again. "His majesty often spoke highly of his sister, and of House Jarnhud."  
>Antigra sighed, depression dripping from her tone as she did her best to keep up appearances. "Queen Karelia, you and your company are welcome in my palace for as long as you like. Now <em>my husband <em>is finally satisfied, we can perhaps make preparations for Antigra to marry, at long last?" She turned her gaze to Faron, her tone changing from deflated to venomous within seconds.  
>"I thought it best that <em>my daughter's aunt <em>and _her friends and family _should be present to see _their kin _marrying." Faron responded, his tone close to a growl. "But I suppose you'd rather we just got it over with? The one thing we both agree on after all is that _time is precious_."  
>Antigra sighed. "Time <em>is <em>precious." Those were the only words she spoke, before getting up and abruptly leaving, even Zephyra noticed the tension in the air, and Arkebus quickly bowed to us, before leading her away.  
>"I, I'm sorry you had to see that." Faron turned to us, his face flat.<br>"Oh Faron..." Karelia's tone was pitiful, she hated seeing her brother this way. "How can you continue to cope? Please, I beg of you, just come home with us. Leave this court and that gods-forsaken queen, and be with your family."  
>"And leave my little Zeph behind?" He shook his head. "She's a Lucien, but she's still my daughter. Antigra? I hate her, I hate being in her presence because my memories make it hurt so much. But, I can't leave my child alone here. I don't care if Antigra would be a good mother for her in my absence, she needs her father in her life."<p>

**Princess Zephyra was a sweet dragoness, but her head was as empty as a flowerpot. She **_**adored**_** the colour green, and every day we were at the Court of Warfang, she would be seen in a different dress, robe or outfit, all of them a different shade of green. She acted less like the dragon princesses I had come to expect, and more like the frail, useless maidens which human princesses were groomed to be. Chances are, when she became queen, she'd heap the duties onto her husband, though she may well be a good mother for her child...**

**...Oh? Did I not say? Zephyra was pregnant. When you're **_**my**_**age, it becomes obvious when a dragoness is wearing a dress to hide her inflated figure; it was a common practice now, especially in Avalar.**

I decided to approach the young princess later on, she sat in one of the palace sitting rooms, with Arkebus quietly chatting with her, before bringing his head down to her belly, listening.  
>"Hello there." I greeted, catching them by surprise.<br>"Lady Danthe!" He stammered. "Erm, err..."  
>I closed the door behind me. "Don't worry, my lord, I'm a dragoness of some honour. I could tell you were pregnant back at court. If I was going to say anything, I would've already. You're trying to keep it secret though?"<br>Zephyra nodded, and Arkebus explained. "By our laws, dragon laws, we're married already. We have been for nearly a year now."  
>"...But you're getting a marriage ceremony?"<br>"It's the humans!" Zeph cried. "They're stupid rules! They said that if I give birth before I'm married, by _their _stupid rules, I can't call my baby mine! It'd be a bastard!"  
>"I told her." Arkebus continued. "...I warned her that the humans wouldn't agree, and asked if she was still willing to mate with me, but..."<br>"...You're in love." I finished. "What force would dare to try to keep you apart?" I sighed, seeking to change the subject. "Have you thought of names?"  
>"It's a boy." Zephyra spoke, pride coming into her voice. "...I can feel it. I'd like to name it after Arkebus' father, Valengeth."<br>The expecting father smiled. "His friends would often call him Geth."  
>"I like Gether." Zephyra announced. "Little Gether Lucien, named after his granddaddy."<br>Arkebus smiled, kissing his wife-to-be on the cheek. "Whatever your heart desires, my darling." He then turned to look at me, his face clearly happy at how I handled this development. "Thank you for your secrecy in this. Faron and Antigra already know, that's why we're having to bow to the Mankind's pointless laws. We have to keep our liege happy."

**Personally, I didn't understand why it was any of the Mankind's business. They needed to learn to respect our traditions, as they expected us to respect theirs. If they were to ask any dragon in Sekeolath (except Borgar), they'd say they were already married, and that their son was as true a Lucien as any child born after Zerphyra's and Arkebus' wedding ceremony. But, it wasn't my place to say: This wasn't Sekeolath, and Karelia had warned me that things would be different here in Avalar.**

**During my time in Avalar, Amora had left Borgar behind to act as regent, but this left her lonely, but Faron was happy to keep her company. He didn't try anything untoward, but he'd rather spend time with her, than his wife.**

One day, after an especially heated argument with Antigra, I walked past a corridor just in time for her to burst out of a room, running past me in tears. "Damn you Faron! You and you Abelburbens can rot in hell!"  
>Sweat beaded on my brow as I noticed specks of blood on the claws of her left forepaw, she turned down a corridor and disappeared. From the room she fled from, I heard more crying. Curiosity and nerves bubbling in my head, I peered inside, seeing Faron in tears, clutching his face, where a set of three deep, bloody scratches across his face, explaining Antigra's bloody claws.<br>"Faron..." I spoke. "What happened?"  
>"Damn her and damn the Avalarian crown!" He sobbed. "...I, I loved her once, and she loved me! But then the crown went on, and she turned into an insufferable wrench!" I held him in my arms, he needed comfort from somewhere. "...I tried, I really tried to make her happy. But we never saw eye to eye! She felt she knew how best to rule, and so did I! We were both young, too young to be rule, and we, we just never stopped fighting!" Taking a handkerchief from the table, I used it to dab away the blood and tears which dribbled down his cheeks. I didn't say anything, I just let him weep. "We don't even share a bed anymore. She'd sooner sleep with her barren Court Guardian than with me. I can't say I blame her... It's not like I've been faithful either."<br>"You've slept with another dragoness?"  
>"Of course I have!" He snapped. "Antigra would sooner have me castrated than allow me to pleasure her now. And I needed <em>somebody, anybody<em>! ...It's my gardener. This sweet, young, gentle nature dragoness who sings to my plants. Her voice is like silk, and they grow taller just to hear her better." He wept anew. "She's too young for me. And I can't leave my wife..." He burrowed his face into my chest. "...I'd give anything, anything, for what you and Finn Av Danthe had. I've been married for more than a century of human years to that dragoness." He croaked. "...And now I'll be chained to her until I die or be forever dishonoured... I, I've wasted my life, Danthe... All I have now is my daughter..."

**Faron's situation was unbearable. What could I possibly have said to make it better? I wish I could do something, anything, to help, as I was his aunt-in-law, but I couldn't: Avalar was wealthy, beautiful and warm, but I found myself hating being there with every fibre of my being. The Avalarians were so constrained by rules and restrictions that neither Lucien nor Abelburben in Warfang could breathe: Sekeolath may have been cold, and not the wealthiest of places, but we were **_**free**_**, and we were **_**happy**_**: Nobody in the palace of Warfang was happy, they were all too busy lying, and running under cloak and dagger just to make life bearable for themselves. I had decided: Once Zephyra and Arkebus, and Nauma and Felix were married, I would be heading back to Sekeolath at the first possible opportunity.**

**To keep myself sane while in this place, I took to walking through the wooded valley outside the capital. A small stream ran through the valley's middle. It was, for the most part, quiet. As days passed, I was eventually accompanied by my children, and I began to find myself talking of marriage with Nauma.**

"A wedding ceremony?" Nauma asked as she trotted alongside me through the tall grass.  
>"Of course." I nodded. "For dragons who love each other enough to know they want to be together, but aren't ready to mate for whatever reason. I've been speaking with Faron, and he's willing for you to share your wedding with Zephyra and Arkebus, which would be quite a spectacular day for both you and them. Antigra? You let me worry about her, it's not her choice, and it isn't really even Faron's: It's Zeph's, but I'm confident she'll be happy to accept this. There are just a few things we need to sort out, one thing more promptly than all else."<br>The couple paused. "And what's that?" My daughter asked.  
>"Do you both want to marry?" Nauma didn't answer at first, she was taken aback by the bluntness. "...I've seen how much it hurt Faron to marry someone who he later came to hate. Part of it's down to arranged marriages, but also, they couldn't really live with each other." I sighed. "Felix Clingerlinn is a fine young dragon, and I'd love him like my own if he became my son-in-law, but it's up to you want to be together. I shan't force you to go either way, you both have to be committed to your answer..." I sighed. "...Is this what you really want? It's all I need to hear, and you'll have my blessing."<p>

**She did want it. From the smile on her face If he'd have been there (and she was more confident in becoming a parent for the first time) she probably would've married him right there and then, in the tall grass with naught but the birds and the bees to bother them.** **And so it was set in stone: Nauma and Felix would have a wedding ceremony, either alongside Zerphyra's wedding, or in a ceremony of their own: Nauma was a duchess, and her liege was the king's sister, but if Nauma wasn't allow to have her wedding at the same time as the Crown Princess, we'd find a worthy time and venue for her.**

**Strangely, for such a large city, we had real trouble finding a suitable tailor to make Nauma a decent wedding dress. Among dragons, only the nobility really cared to wear clothing in Avalar, and so tailor shops weren't really very common. However, riding to the rescue came Zephyra, who offered us the services of the Royal Tailor, who was very happy to make a rather beautiful white wedding gown for my daughter.**

**The plan to have Nauma and Felix marry was coming together. However, as I feared, it divided the household.**

"What folly." Antigra hissed, her words far angrier as her tone, for her whole body was deflated, as though she didn't even have the energy to be angry about it. "The special day of my daughter, having to be shared with like the likes of a mere duchess? A duchess marrying so little as an _apprentice healer_?" She snorted, causing growls of anger from Faron. Me, Nauma and Felix shrank in our seats opposite them as the two dragons continued to fight, Antigra completely without any regard or care for present company.  
>"That's my sister-in-law." He grumbled, his face now scarred from the assault of his wife. "She'd be the queen of the Jarnhud Kingdom right now, if she wasn't so generous as to give HER sister the throne instead."<br>"I don't want her stealing the attention rightfully belonging to Zephyra on her wedding day."  
>"I shan't be, your majesty." Nauma spoke, trying to settle the dispute. "I understand that Princess Zephyra should be the centre of the attention at her wedding. I won't try to impose on that."<br>"But it's your wedding too." Faron spoke, his tone far kinder to Nauma than to his wife. "You deserve _some _attention. And I won't hear any more of this elitist talk of rank. All I've found in rank and marriage, is that _crowns kill love_."  
>Those words much as broken through a layer of Antigra's armour, for she winced slightly, backing down a little. "... Alright, fine. We'll it up to Zephyra if she wants Duchess Nauma to have her wedding alongside her own..." She looked down at her paws. "How, how's your face?"<br>Faron sighed. "Still hurts."  
>"I-I'm sorry."<br>"Forget it. It's done. It'd been done for years, and I deserved my part in it as much as you." He blinked, hardening his face. "This can'tbe allowed to become about _us _though, Antigra. We have to make sure our daughter has the wedding she deserves, so she can have what we used to have, and so her son can be born free of the burden of bastardry. It'll be her day, so it's her choice."  
>All eyes descended upon Zephyra, who sat under the wing of Arkebus; she'd been quiet up until this point, but now, she looked around, ready to speak.<br>"Mother..." She spoke. "I, I think you're being too hard on our guests. Danthe knows about my egg, and she promised to keep it secret. I've enjoyed the company of her entourage, and Nauma is Queen Amora's sister. I don't mind sharing the attention with her, they're good people, and they've had a hard journey." The news caused Nauma to grin widely, looking to Felix, who shared equal excitement.  
>"Thank you." She spoke to Zephyra. "Thank you so much! This is going to be such a fantastic day, you won't regret this, I promise you!"<br>Antigra continued to look disapprovingly at her guests irrespective of Zerphyra's decision, but she sighed. "Very well. My daughter has made her choice." She frowned. "I must leave you now, I need to speak with my Court Guardian, he's not allowed to conduct marriages, but I can make contact with the Temple Guardians through him, they'll conduct the ceremony. Faron, you're to go over the details with you." She turned to use. "He's an utterly useless king..." She paused, faltering. "...But, he's a good father, and he'll make sure you both have a wedding day you'll never forget." Giving one final glance to her husband, she left us to it...

**As far as Faron was concerned, Antigra was probably going to do a lot more than just 'talk' to her Court Guardian, named Yvon…**

**For a long while, nothing much seemed to happen. Felix had sent off for his mother to come to the palace, so she might be introduced to me; I'd be his mother in law soon, it made sense that I should get to know his family...**

**...Unfortunately, Linn only spoke French.**

"_Alors, est-ce la dragonne vous avez l'intention de se marier?_"She spoke, her tone was sweet and her French accent pleasing to my ears, compared to the rougher, more guttural accents of Sekeolath. Still, I didn't understand a word she said; thankfully, Felix did, and an otherwise awkward introduction was made easier with his translations. So far, she seemed pleased by the back and forth of conversation and translation.  
>"<em>Oui, ma mère. Ceci est duchesse Nauma Jarnhud, elle est la dragonne qui m'a convoqué pour traiter les blessures de sa mère. Vous souvenez-vous?<em>" Felix responded, nodding.  
>"What are they saying?" I whispered to Nauma, who shrugged, before asking the same question to Felix.<br>"Oh, forgive me." He replied with a meek smile. "I was only introducing you to my mother. Lady Danthe, Nauma, my love, this is Lady Linn, my mother." He smiled, before speaking in draconic so she didn't understand. "Please don't draw too much attention to her irrational blinking. Her mother was born blind, so she's afraid of harm coming to her eyes, lest she loses her sight too."  
>I nodded, a newfound understand of this strange Frenchdragoness' unusual behaviour.<br>"_Fils, dites-leur de la façon dont vous avez utilisé pour s'occuper de moi quand je suis malade. Je suis tellement fière de toi, et je veux qu'ils sachent comment combien vous vous souciez de personnes._" She suddenly spoke to her son, causing him to blush slightly, but beam with pride nonetheless.  
>"Mother has asked me to tell you about how I used to look after her in the past. Her fear of her losing her eyesight is what got me into learning how to be a healer in the first place... If anything happened to her, I wanted to be able to do something to help."<br>"That's a very good and sweet thing of you." I spoke with warmth. "Your mother should be proud to have such a good son looking over her. I'm certainly proud that I'll be able to call you my son-in-law very soon."  
><strong><br>Lady Linn was very highly liked among Avalar's court, but Yvon's reputation was as good to those within the draconic inner circles of Antigra's court: People knew that she and Faron were merely keeping up** **appearances, and so another reason why he couldn't conduct the wedding ceremony became apparent.  
>That was perhaps a good thing, for the dragons she consulted instead were of far better character...<strong>

_Dear Danthe the Avenger and King Faron,_

_I write on behalf of Master Frigus, the Guardian of Ice, who dictates what shall be written in this letter to you._

_Master Frigus is delighted that the Guardians of the Dragon Temple of Avalar have been consulted in the marriages of Princess Zephyra and Lord Arkebus, and of Duchess Nauma Jarnhud and Felix Clingerlinn. This will indeed be quite the ceremony, we guardians have conducted weddings under the restrictions of the human lieges before, it shall not be a problem for us to do the same for your two betrothed couples._

_We kindly invite you to the temple, where the wedding will be orchestrated. Master Frigus, Master Incendium, our Fire Guardian, and Master Geo, our Earth Guardian, will be overseeing everything, and me and the other apprentices will do our best to make your wedding the best it can be. If you can find time, please come visit us at the Temple, so we can show you around and discuss the wedding planning together._

_Best regards,_

_Cyril Abelburben, Apprentice of Ice, and Temple Scribe to Master Frigus._

The dragon's handwriting was extremely neat, the black ink was applied to parchment with the eloquent swish of a quill in a manner I had not seen quite so well handled before: It was clear to see why this Cyril fellow had been made the Temple's scribe, alongside his role as apprentice.  
>"Who's Cyril?" I asked Faron after reading the letter.<br>Faron smiled. "He's my kinsman, the second of his name. Son of Lady Varinia Abelburben and Lord Cyril Horn." He sighed, his tone cheerful for a change. "A proud, boastful young lad is Cyril. But he's got a good heart, he'll do well as guardian one day."  
>I frowned: I knew that House Abelburben was a great house in Scandinavia, but Isete never told me much of her family, she certainly didn't tell me they were as far afield as Avalar!<br>"So, these guardians, they don't seem to act in the same way as the ones back home?"  
>Faron grumbled a hum of agreement. "You Sekeolasians are lucky in your religious liberties. You've got a melting pot of Relgimists, Norsemen and Christians all living up there. Down here in Avalar though, we've had to alter our faith to be accepted by our liege. We don't worship your pantheon anymore, and our guardians act effectively as teachers, rather than priests. So long as they don't actively try to push 'heresy' onto their students, we're allowed to keep our guardians overtly..."<p>

**Avalar's lack of freedom was always going to be jarring for me, it seemed. Nevertheless, the wedding would go ahead. Me, the wedding couples and Faron soon made our way to the Dragon Temple, in order to tour the venue, and meet with the guardians who'd be conducting the double marriage.**

The temple was located at the heart of a marshy forest, and was a vast building which dwarfed the surrounding landscape. The group landed on an outside balcony, leading up to the temple's training hall. Waiting under a stone arch along the steps was a group of dragons, young and old, waiting for us.  
>We were approached by a large blue dragon, and a blue adolescent who followed closely behind.<br>"Welcome." The older dragon bowed, being quickly followed by the younger. "I am Frigus, guardian of ice here at the temple, and my apprentice, Cyril."  
>"Hello there." He greeted. "King Faron, it is good to meet blooded kin again."<br>Frigus ignored his apprentice's chattering. "Please, allow me to introduce you to my fellow guardians..."  
>He led us to the other dragons in the crowd: Master Incendium, a great red dragon fire guardian, and his apprentice, Ignitus; Master Geo, a green earth guardian who would be helping with the wedding, and his apprentice Terrador; Master Procellam, a skinny golden dragon guardian of electricity, and his adoptive son, Volteer, a buzzing young yellow; Master Hurrykane, a sky blue dragon who was guardian of wind; and finally, Mistress Dulcamara, a serpentine green guardian of poison, and her daughter, Venimia.<p>

**The guardians lead us inside the temple, the apprentices huddled together in a group close behind. I didn't know these young dragons, but it quickly became clear that there was something of a pecking order among them which mirrored their masters:  
>The majority of them were young adults, Ignitus was the oldest, being 25 dragonyears of age, and seemed to be something of a leader to their little gang.<br>The earth apprentice, who was 23, was his lieutenant, as Terrador and the young red seemed to be closer with each other than their fellow apprentices.  
>Cyril, an adolescent at 14, was the youngest of the apprentices before the other guardians chose their own, but he certainly didn't let that stop him, a sense of great personal pride gave him the confidence to punch above his weight and earned him the respect of the older apprentices, who had clearly been good friends for a long time.<br>Volteer, a gifted temple orphan adopted by Master Procellam, wasn't an apprentice yet, as he was only 4 dragonyears old, but he had a mouth which flowed with a constant stream of speech like a fast flowing river current; it annoyed Cyril, but at the same time, he seemed to enjoy having a friendly rivalry with the little electric dragon.  
>Lastly, there was Venimia: She was even younger, little more than a hatchling at just 2 human years of age, was not an active soul, and slept soundly atop her mother's back.<strong>

"You've seen the balcony already, and we were thinking the ceremony could be held there." Frigus explained. "Me and Geo will be the ones handling it."  
>"This is all very good." Faron smiled. "How much do you need in payment?"<br>"Oh, don't worry about that. Her majesty the queen has promised she'll pay for everything. She shouldn't be paying too much though. We're supplying a lot of things ourselves, and even so, it's the crown princess and her lover, and the Queen of Sekeolath's sister. It's an honour."  
>"Indeed it is." Master Geo added: "For now, feel free to make yourselves comfortable during your stay. Cyril, Terrador. Please show our guests around, and make them feel welcome. We've all got work to do, so let's get to it."<p>

Terrador parted from Ignitus (who was given the duty of looking after the eggs and temple orphans) with a cheerful wave, and followed after Cyril as he showed us around.  
>"So you've seen the balcony and the main hall, where we train." the young ice apprentice explained. "Most likely, Master Frigus will conduct the wedding ceremony, vows and stuff on the balcony, and we'll have everything else in the main hall."<br>"Food and the like." Terrador added.  
>"Yes, Terrador, <em>food and the like<em>. If you must put in such blunt terms." Cyril retorted. "We shall prepare a banquet for you, your majesties, one worthy of the wedding of such high and prestigious dragons such as yourselves. My master is a wise dragon, he should spare no expense to ensure you eat like... Well, kings, and queens."  
>"Hmm, how eloquently put." Terrador grumbled. "Or could you not think of a phrase other than the obvious?"<br>"Quiet! You cur!" Cyril blushed. "Go on, show the gardens, but by the grace of the ancestors, don't get distracted by your ludicrous crush!" Now it was Terrador's turn to blush.  
>"She's not my crush! She's just, a friend."<br>"Oh, of course! Forgive me." The young blue mocked. "Don't get too distracted by your _friend_, she _is _awfully pretty, and her accent is so very fruity. Or so that's what I heard you telling Ignitus, right?"  
>Terrador winced. "If you'd kindly follow me, your majesties." He hastily jumped to subject. "Let me show you the gardens. We'll be growing the flowers for your ceremony there."<p>

**Terrador and Cyril lead the group through a small, circular door, leading to a cave tunnel, illuminated by candles and the odd glowing mushroom, before exiting into an open clearing. The clearing was a relatively dry spot within the wetlands where the temple was located. A dirt path was beaten into the grassy ground, which a handful of earth and nature dragons of all ages sat and worked under the warmth of the sun, growing the grassy area in a rich and blossoming garden.**

Almost immediately, the young green apprentice was approached by another green dragoness, roughly five dragonyears younger than him.  
>"Hello there Terrador." She greeted with a cheery lilt to her voice.<br>"Good afternoon Selena." He smiled, Cyril turning to me with a cheeky, but knowing nod: Clearly, He'd seen this before. "I heard you got a letter from Wales. How goes your family?"  
>"Oh Terrador, I've been missing my mother and father so much. Letters can only tell so much, and they're so few and far between." She beamed. "They live in Gwynedd now, and have been working for the local lord and his family. I've finally done it Terry! I've made enough gold so I can go there and bring them home!"<br>Terrador nodded. "Hmmm, yes. Duke Dyfan and his family are quite something. But be warned, I shouldn't speak ill of House Ixeniejir, but they are quite... _hot-headed_."  
>"Oh..." Selena sighed. "They were very kind to Mother and Father though, and I hear good things about one of their sons."<br>"I'm terribly sorry Selena, my dear." Cyril interrupted. "I'm sure it will be a great day for you when you reunite with your family, but for now, we have work to do."  
>The great green apprentice sighed. "Yes, alight, thank you, Cyril." Terrador grumbled. "Selena, would you kindly show our guests the flowers we're growing for the ceremony?"<p>

She nodded, and presented a weaved basket, containing a number of flowers of all kinds and colours. "Me and some of the students have been using our magic to charm the flowers into growth quickly for your wedding."  
>"You and the other students?" I spoke aloud. "Aren't you a student too?"<br>"She was." Terrador explained. "But she's English. England isn't safe for dragons, ambitious knights and angry peasant mobs revel in the chance to slay our kind."  
>"The dragons who take revenge and attack the towns and villages only make things worse." Selena added. "So, the guardians were kind enough to give me a job as Temple Gardener, and let me live here as long as I like. I've been trying to put together enough money to be able to ferry my parents here too. It was a lot cheaper to send a hatchling to the temple than it is two aged dragons." she sighed.<br>"But, if they're in Wales, they should be safe now, right?" Nauma asked.  
>"<em>Safer<em>." Terrador spoke, he sighed, and returned to topic. "But Selena, my dear, your work is excellent. These flowers are simply beautiful."  
>"They are indeed." I smiled. "These should be perfect. Was there any colours you preferred?" I asked the two betrothed couples. She, Felix and the royal couple took time to choose through the flowers; they talked it over with each other for a while, Zephyra wanted some green flowers, but she wasn't really happy with the range of such flowers there were on offer: Eventually, they agreeing on roses, white and blue of colour. The roses would be arranged and placed around the temple on the wedding day, and a handful would be set aside to make flowery arrangements to be worn by the brides: White for Zephyra, and blue for Nauma.<p>

**All this talk of weddings made me realise something as we left the temple that night; I'd not gotten any sort of gift for Nauma or Felix on their wedding day. They both assured me they didn't want anything from me, but that wasn't good enough as far as I was concerned: I had to do **_**something**_** for them.  
>My answer came when I went with King Faron, so he might buy a gift for his daughter. I chanced upon a blank book, almost suited to be a diary; its paper was creamy, its leather binding soft to the touch and bore a faint, pleasantly leathery smell. I found myself parting with money for it before I even knew what to do with it. But, deep down, I knew exactly what to do with it: It is inside that book I started to write this story; it would be a tale of my life, and the life of our family, dedicated to Nauma and Felix; hopefully, they can learn from my experiences.<strong>

It would take a while for the book to be written, but Felix was certainly interested to learn more about the family he'd soon be joining. By this point, Nauma had shared the difficult truth of her origins with him, although this meant little to him: The stories of Jotun the Perisher weren't as well known in Avalar as they were in Sekeolath, not that it mattered: He loved Nauma, he didn't care about the sins of the dragons who created her.

The wedding wouldn't be ready for a month or so yet, it was plenty of time for me to write my book; my daily routine descended into me pouring my experiences into words by effort of ink and quill. My handwriting wasn't the greatest in the world, but it had to be, my efforts were slowed by a deliberate effort to write as elegantly as possible. I'd get it done though, even if it was late, even if it was the last thing I ever did, I'd finish this damn book.

**I often took to my writing in the gardens, under a shady tree, and could be there for hours at a time, enjoying the warm sun and quiet serenity as I wrote. By this point, the wedding was nearly upon us: I wasn't going to be able to finish the story in time for the wedding itself so it seemed, my heart was heavy in this realisation, but I pressed on regardless...**

It was not long before the day finally came: The wedding ceremony took place on the balcony of the Dragon Temple, the guardians and their apprentices, the three royal families and Lady Linn 'Le Clinger', Felix's mother. A noticeably unwanted guest was a number of human priests dressed in their white robes and crucifixes; their presence felt like an insult to the dragon temple, their symbols had to be randomly scattered around the wedding legal in the eyes of the liege; this was something we all knew we'd have to deal with, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with as the mother of the bride: Of all the things to be bogged down in religion and politics, why did it have to be my daughter's wedding?!

Queen Antigra somehow managed to force me into a formal gown (which I endured for my children, I hadn't worn such clothing since I was but a hatchling!) so I might look pretty for the wedding; however, nobody looked prettier than the brides and grooms didn't wear dresses often,but clearly, when she did she looked exquisite, the excitement was bubbling in her eyes and face, as it was with Felix, smartly dressed in ceremonial armour with a wing draped over his wife-to-be. Zephyra had far more practice wearing gowns and clothing like her wedding dress, and had clearly had imagined this scene in her head for years, she was barely able to hold back joyful tears as she was lead down the aisle, for she was to be Queen of Avalar someday, she would be saying her vows first. I glanced over to Faron and Antigra, to see them both smiling together for the first time since I'd arrived in Avalar; clearly, they'd agreed to a cease fire for the sake of their daughter, in order to make this the best day Zephyra ever had...

However, while this was Zerphyra's wedding, this _isn't_ Zerphyra's story, at this point, it really isn't even _my _story anymore: It's Nauma's. Once she stood before Master Frigus and Cyril, who was his ring-bearer, he begun to speak the words of the ceremony.  
>"Beloved guests, we are gathered here, in this place of the divine and the watching ancestors, to witness the marriage of Lady Nauma, Duchess of Castle Jarnhud, and Felix Clingerlinn. Please repeat after me: My beloved, through brightest flame and coldest frost, I take thee."<br>"_My beloved, through brightest flame and coldest frost, I take thee._" The couple repeated, hardly containing themselves.  
>"Through Nature's snaring vines and bitter venom, I take thee."<br>"_Through Nature's snaring vines and bitter venom, I take thee._"  
>"Through Thunder's raging storms and howling winds, I take thee."<br>"_Through Thunder's raging storms and howling winds, I take thee._"  
>"Through darkest hours and brightest dawns, I take thee."<br>"_Through darkest hours and brightest dawns, I take thee._"  
>"Through fear and through hope, I take thee."<br>"_Through fear and through hope, I take thee._"  
>"Even as spirits, bound forever to nature, I take thee."<br>"_Even as spirits, bound forever to nature, I take thee._"_  
><em>"I take thee, forevermore in love, my soul made whole by your spirit."**  
><strong>"_I take thee, forevermore in love, my soul made whole by your spirit._"  
>"As God and the Ancestors bare witness."<br>"_As God and the Ancestors bare witness._"  
>"Amen."<br>"_Amen._"  
>As the vow ended, Cyril quickly stepped into motion, handing Felix and Nauma each a golden ring, which they proceeded to carefully slide onto the talon on the other.<br>"With these rings, your vows are sealed. I declare you, Nauma Jarnhud, and Felix Jarnhud, wife and husband."  
>It was a moment I expect nobody concerned to ever forget; watching Felix kiss my daughter as his wife for the first time sent my heart aflutter with joy. It might not be the wedding I expected for her, but she was so happy, I didn't even care: It was her wedding, not mine, her happiness was all that mattered.<p>

The wedding banquet was splendid, a king's feast of food from all over the known world, rich with spices and sugars from far eastern lands we'd heard of only in stories. Zephyra and Arkebus were absorbed into the crowd of guests and well-wishers, revelling in congratulations and happy conversation; all of the hardships we'd suffered were forgotten for a day, leaving only joy and love to blossom. Felix had gone off with his wife to be bombarded with high praise and gushing from his mother I didn't know for sure, I don't speak French, but her face was wet with tears and she grinned madly the entire time.

The festivities went on long into the night, with drink and food being passed around until everyone was merry and staggered back to the Palace of Avalar, our heads fuzzy and our bellies warm. It was a night of great activity, leaving my old and aching frame under great strain; my heartbeat feeling strangely erratic in my chest, going randomly from heavy, fast thumps to slighter, weaker beats. I was tired, and it was time for me to rest at long last.

**And so finally ends my story, my life laid to paper for my wonderful daughter and son-in-law. I don't know what the future holds for you, my children, only time will tell for the fate of Sekeolath and the family. However, if the world is fair and the Ancestors kind, only good will befall you. As for me, my dear children, I grow tired, my body is weak, not what it once was, and I do not expect to see Sekeolath again in life; but do not worry about me, just let me sleep, and I shall be with you again soon.**

**With all my love, and all my blessings, May the Ancestors watch over you. May they watch over us all,**

**your loving mother, Danthe.**


	6. Epilogue: Remembrance

**Remembrance**

It was cold as I awoke from a long, long sleep. I felt strange, full of energy, feeling far better than I'd felt in a long time. There was an unusual strength to my body which I hadn't felt in... Years... Not since I was young.

It was strange enough to force open my eyes, which were sticky with dried sleep... To see that I wasn't in my bed.

I scrambled to my feet, that same youthful strength gave haste to my movement. I looked around, seeing a vast chamber full of books and scrolls, a giant hourglass in the centre of the room.  
>"Hello?" I called out. "Hello?! Where am I?!"<br>"Ah, lady Danthe, you're here at last." A voice, an old voice, spoke out from the centre of the chamber: I wasn't alone.  
>"Where am I?" I asked. "Where are my family? How did you bring me here?"<br>The voice sighed slightly, it wouldn't have been very threatening if I didn't wake up having no clue where I actually was. I saw movement, and an ancient dragon, whose scales had turned grey with age, emerged from the shadows, clad in a thick, heavy blue robe and carrying countless scrolls in satchels on his sides. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news."  
>I paused. "Who are you?"<br>"My dear, the only name I go by now is The Chronicler. And around this time, I would ask to write a book about your life, but you've already done that..." He nodded to himself, staring at a book. "Please, come closer, nobody is going to harm you here."  
>Tentatively, I approached. I caught a glimpse of myself in the polished hourglass, and I reeled back in surprise!<br>"I... I'm young?! What the?! What did you do to me?!"  
>The reflection staring back at me was my own, but it was, without doubt, the body I had when I was little older than 20 dragonyears.<br>"Yes, I'm sorry, my dear, but that's the bad news..." He sighed, offering me the book, covered in a blue hardback binding, its first page had my picture upon it.  
>"Queen Danthe the Avenger..." I read, my mouth going dry. "Born 627AD..." I froze up, my mind refusing to believe what was laid to paper. "<em>Died... 1459<em>?"  
>"I'm sorry, I really am." The Chronicler explained. "It was the night your daughter got married. Your heart failed, and you died in your sleep. It was... Peaceful, as if part of you was holding on just a bit longer. Long enough to make sure your daughter was going to be alright when you passed on."<p>

I shook my head, utterly bewildered. "No..." I stammered. "No. That can't be right. I'm _here_! I can't be DEAD!"  
>"You are a spirit." The Chronicler told me, never once raising his tone despite my increasing panic. "A spirit given the power to take physical form for your labours and good deeds in life." That didn't help. "Come with me..."<br>He took my by the foreleg, and showed me a spirit pool, instructing me to watch:

_My body looked serene in its eternal slumber, though the company it kept was far more distressed; none more so than Nauma, who had melted into the embrace of her husband, her eyes pouring as she howled aloud in grief.  
>"My dear." Felix spoke, desperate to try to calm his grieving wife. "Please try to settle. I know this is hurts, but Danthe is in a better place now."<br>"But she's my mother!" She sobbed. "She shouldn't have died here, in a bed, a world away from home!"  
>Hosvir draped a wing over his sister. "Hey, she's already there..." He spoke, his voice a muffled croak, as he tried in vain to stop himself bawling alongside her. "...This is just a body, remember? Mother's already gone home to Sekeolath, to see Father, and Dagmaer. She was in such a rush her spirit forgot her body. We, we... Oh..." He sobbed slightly, wiping his wetted eyes with a paw. "We..." His voice broke slightly. "...We just need to take it home for her."<br>Amora wiped an eye, ironically, she was now the one trying to be strong for the family; she'd slide into my shoes well, history in blood repeating itself.  
>"Don't worry." Faron spoke, holding his sister in his wings. "We'll see her passing is mourned here, as well as in Sekeolath. We'll spare no expense making sure her body gets home so she can have a proper funeral..."<em>

"Stop!" Stop!" I cried, unable to cope at seeing my children's suffering, tears at my eyes. "Please, just make it stop!" The Chronicler obeyed, dispelling the vision and sitting at my side. "...It's true? It's really true? I'm... I'm dead..." He nodded. "...B-but, what becomes of me now? Am I to be another relic in your chambers, gathering dust forever? What's going to happen to me?"  
>"My dear, you shall never gather dust. I assure you, you are not a prisoner here." The ancient dragon responded warmly.<br>"I..." I sighed. "I should've seen it coming, right? I was old, and my heart was playing up. I was nothing more than a burden to people."  
>"Really?" The Chronicler snorted. "From what I've seen from you across your life, you've gone to great lengths for the happiness and well-being of your family. Little Nauma for instance: You could've easily abandoned her, or passed her off as a lowborn bastard and left her to a life of poverty among the peasants. But no, you took her in, and made her your own, and tried so hard to preserve her happiness for as long as you could." He paused. "I sat here with Helga, all those dragonyears ago. I've not been getting a lot of visitors since, except for her..."<br>I froze. "You, you did?"  
>"I did indeed. She first came, begging for me to bring her husband back to her, so she was obliged her request, but Jotun is bound to her now, he cannot leave her side or he'll be sent away again." I felt a horrible mixture of pain and anger at the memories of Jotun and my sister. "...Then, she was originally heartbroken when Nauma called you mother instead of her. She was less angry, and more saddened. She'd go to Nauma's bedside at night, but then she'd wake, crying of having nightmares where Helga and Jotun haunted her."<br>"Wait..." I spoke up. "I remember that. It shook her up so much, it's what lead her down the road to discovering the truth... That was real?"  
>He nodded. "It is indeed. Have you ever dreamed of Finn and Dagmaer after they passed? Dreams which felt so real you'd have believe it actually happened?"<br>A tear dripped from my face. "...All the time." I choked. "So they, they really were there?"  
>"They're here now too." He added, causing my heart to flutter in its cage. "...Would you like me to take you to them?"<br>"M-meet them?" I stammered. "I can see them again?"  
>"Of course. It's not just your spirit which lives on like this. They all have too, watching over you. Them, your siblings, your parents..." He saw my face, with its total look of disbelief but eager joy. "...But I shan't keep you waiting, come with me..."<p>

**A new energy surged through my body as I quickly trotted behind The Chronicler: I felt no weakness in any part of my form; he explained to me that my spirit had chosen to take on a form which I would be happiest with, and in my case, that form was the body of my 20 dragonyear old self, when my physique, and my life, was at its best.**

And then, in a strange, vast, crystal chamber, there they were: Dagmaer and Finn, standing in quiet shock and disbelief as they stared at me. I stared back, my ecstasy at seeing them marred by fear: This was too perfect, it couldn't be real. Could it?  
>"Mother?" Dagmaer squeaked, her spirit wasn't much different to before she died, though her body was without scars, blemishes or imperfections (I remembered her once complaining of roughly, bitty scales around her ankles, like callouses; those had vanished, leaving perfectly smooth scales and skin in their place). "Mother? Is it truly you?" Wet flowed from her face as I nodded, and then she charged at me, jumping and tackling me in a hug! "Oh mother!" She cried. "I've missed you mother! I was following you all the time, me and Finn! I called and called!" She choked in tears. "B-but you ignored us, you never responded... You couldn't see us."<br>My lip quivered; it never occurred to me that spirits might have been following me, or how much it may have hurt if they tried in vain to contact me.  
>"I'm sure she never meant to." Finn spoke softly, approaching. "She'd never willingly ignore you, my dear."<br>"No, no I wouldn't." I stammered, pulling him into the hug. "I've missed you both so much. I've not been whole since you both left us. But..." I wiped dry my face and swallowed. "...Now, I promise, no more. I'll see you forever now. I'll never let you out of my sight again."  
>"...And we'll never leave you again." Finn smiled, kissing me and nuzzling my cheek with his snout. "I love you."<p>

**I would've happily stayed there, lost in their embrace for the rest of time, but I knew I couldn't: I had others I had to see again, if I could: Death had offered me the chance to see lost loved ones again, and I couldn't pass that up.**

**After a while, The Chronicler drew me back into conversation: He had something he needed me to know...**

"Danthe." He spoke. "For now, you've seen only the benefits of your state of being, however, there are some rules you must follow, or you will be punished by the Ancestors."  
>"Go on?" I spoke.<br>"They're not too hard to follow, and for a dragoness of your morals and stature, it should be easy to live with." The Chronicler explained. "...For one, you are immortal now, and much more powerful than you've ever been. However, the first rule is that you must not use your powers for malevolent purposes. If you chose to live on Earth, you must live _for _Earth, and do good for people." I nodded, and he continued. "...Most High Spirits like yourself are given a mortal soul to protect. And, in your case, there's one soul who none of your ancestors could possibly dispute, especially after how well you cared for her already."  
>I smiled, I knew where he was going already. "You mean Nauma, don't you?"<br>"Of course. I trust that's not a problem."  
>"No, no of course not." I smiled. "It'd be an honour..."<br>"Excellent. I knew you'd be happy with the decision... I think that's everything. You'll need to go and see Nauma to explain at some point, but for now, that's everything you need to know. If I need you again, I shall summon you." He turned, leaving me at liberty to leave. "...Take care, Danthe the Avenger..."

**It was then that Finn and Dagmaer, with help from The Chronicler, showed me a new trick: They shrunk into a small glowing sprite, which floated around my body like dandelion buds blowing in the wind. I was something of an anchor to them, allowing them to take form in the mortal world, so long as they were near me.**

**My head was buzzing with ideas about my new state of being. All the people who I could meet again, catch up and speak with again...**  
><strong>...Then, it hit me: Someone I didn't just want to see, I <strong>_**needed**_**to see, I needed to see them since the day I ran away from home...**

Father: He, Mother and my siblings (excluding Helga, I didn't knowwhere_ she_ was at all), like most spirits, had gone to enjoy their eternity together in a spiritual dimension of their own creation; a dragon of Christendom might call it _Heaven_, or at least a little part of it, specially crafted just for them, _by them_, to be a perfect home for them forever.  
>...That home was a castle, on an idyllic homestead in the middle of a rolling, hilly valley; the weather was comfortably warm and the sky a lazy summer shade of blue. I gulped nervously, very little in my life... err, <em>afterlife<em> had been this frightening so far; thankfully, Finn could sense my anxiety, and floated closer, his warmth was comforting: He and Dagmaer would be there for me if I needed them.

I approached a pair of grand door made of polished oak, producing a deep, bellowing thud as I knocked at its sturdy surface. At first, there was no response and my heart sunk: Maybe they knew who I was, and wouldn't see me?  
>"Hello?" I called out. "Mother? Father? It's me! I've returned!" Silence... I sighed.<br>However, my worry was unfounded: Shortly after shouting, the great doors were pulled open.  
>"Rolf..." I spoke, my voice shaken; it was him, it was really him! "By the ancestors, it's really you!"<br>"Oh my..." He chirped. "Danthe!" He ran up and hugged me. "Oh dear, so you've finally come to join us here in the afterlife?"  
>"I'm afraid so." I sighed. "My heart... It gave out..." I swallowed my sorrow. "But worry not, I died happy, surrounded by family. I just, I had to see you all. Where is Father?"<br>"He's inside, come, come!" He led me inside. "We've missed you..."  
>The inside of the castle, I soon realised, was Castle Jarnhud in its layout, but every single bit of it was better than the original: Rather than stone and wood, the walls and pillars were made of white marble; originally tatty wall-mounted standards made of cloth were now immaculate and made of gold-gilded silk; stained glass windows flooded the chambers with a rainbow of light.<br>"Father never said it aloud, but we could tell he missed you, and was torn up about you leaving until the day he died." Kara explained after a much awaited reunion. "...I seriously considered packing a bag and making us all head north to be with you. Just to bang you and Father's heads together. He owes you an apology."  
>I sighed. "Darling sister, we both owe each other apologies. I was not without fault..."<p>

**And finally, there they were, sat together in the courtyard, the courtyard I could remember once training in as a small child: Mother and Father. Like me, they'd both taken the forms of younger dragons, and so I did not recognise them by sight when I saw them first, but the look in her eyes was indisputable, and the hug my mother gave had the comforting warmth only a loving mother's embrace could provide.**

We went to a quiet sitting room, where Mother keenly sat curled around me with a wing draped over my back; Father sat opposite me, his face hard and his eyes wet. He wanted to speak, but looked as though he was struggling to find the words.  
>"You've been traveling, I've seen..." He spoke at least. "...You've made quite the name for yourself."<br>"I have." I nodded. "...I helped Isete Abelburben to unite the great draconic houses of Scandinavia, I made myself a queen and I helped her build a kingdom."  
>He smiled slightly: "...And you got married."<br>"And had three children." Mother added proudly.  
>"<em>Four<em>." I corrected. "I had _twins_."  
>Mother winced. "Forgive me, Danthe. I know how much you loved that child, and she's still my granddaughter. Thank you for taking such good care of her."<br>"So, you got married, you laid children, and you became a queen." Father stood, walking slowly over to me. "You did all that, exceeded my expectations, without my interference." He sat next to me. "...I should never have tried to hold you back... I'm sorry."  
>I hugged him, holding him tighter than I'd ever held a dragon before; then I was crying, all the walls I'd built up over the years of my life, and three sentences brought them tumbling down. He held me in an embrace as I buried my face into his chest. "...I'm sorry too." I choked. "...I shouldn't have ran away. Maybe you'd have survived if I had stayed."<br>"Or you'd be dead with us." Father responded. "And then, you'd never be able to forge a family name of your own." I looked up at him. "...It seems your children have chosen to take the name 'Av Danthe' rather than Jarnhud." My eyes widened, I knew they referred to themselves that way, but to change their family clan entirely? "...Don't worry, my child." He continued. "...Names may change, but blood is forever. You took the name Jarnhud, and made it your own. I'm proud of you, Danthe. Our house shall be your legacy..."

**They explained to me that The Chronicler had come to them, just as he came to me, when they died, and asked them to provide **_**information**_**. He wrote books on the lives of every dragon who ever lived, and stored them in his lair, in a place called The White Isle, which I can only imagine was the place I'd woken up in. As a reward, he granted them a pocket dimension which they could use to create their own paradise to reside in, a home for their immortal spirits. If I did the same, I'd be entitled to a similar reward.**

"You wrote a book for Nauma, before you died." The Chronicler spoke one day, after he invited me to his archives, where he sat before his giant hourglass, bathed in its cool, blue glow. "I didn't know how much time had passed since I died; without the life I once had, time seemed to blur into obscurity: I could've been dead for a day, a week, a month even. I didn't know for certain. "...A book about your life, if I recall?"  
>I nodded. "From my young childhood to the day of her wedding. Before I died." I informed the immortal dragon.<br>He smiled. "It made a fine gift for your daughter..." He paused. "But, if I could borrow it, you've effectively done my job for me. And then we can look into create a dimension to make your afterlife more comfortable." I frowned at the notion of taking away something I'd given Nauma as a gift, the last thing I ever gave her before I left her. "...Oh, please forgive me. That was tactless. It's your choice, we can talk of your life, as I traditionally do with my visitors, or we can talk about the life of one of your children, and start writing their book. I don't want you to feel pressured into doing something you're not comfortable with though. It's your choice."  
>"Thank you." Was my reply. "I wouldn't be willing to make any decision involving my daughter and her possessions, especially that book, without consulting her first..." I sighed. "I should see her soon, I miss her. But she's mortal. How should I go about letting her know about my state? I don't want to scare her."<br>The Chronicler paused, a thoughtful frown upon his maw. "Hmmm..." He grumbled in his throat, before coming up with a solution: "Perhaps go to her in a dream. It's close enough for you to speak with her, but distant enough that it might not be so frightening to see you after what happened."  
>"Is that possible?" I asked, perking up. "I can enter people's dreams?"<br>"_I do_." The Chronicler smiled. "It's not terribly difficult for a spirit such as yourself. I show you how to do it, and then you can go see your daughter..."

**Entering, wandering and altering of dreams, or 'Dream Weaving', took a while for The Chronicler to teach me, it involved using a clear, slightly glowing crystal which he place on a necklace for my use. However, with practice, I soon got the hang of it: Finn volunteered to be something of a test subject for me to practice on, going to sleep so I could enter his dreams, which were generally good dreams; however, good dreams were harmless, **_**bad dreams**_**could be dangerous: One day, The Chronicler asked Finn to take a potion which would plague him with bad dreams for the night so I might practice entering and soothing bad dreams, all under his watchful gaze, in case something went wrong; he wouldn't be there when I'm entering dreams for real, he wanted to make sure I was completely fine when I entered Nauma's...**

**...As it happens, she had been suffering from nightmares ever since the day I died; even Felix and her family struggled to help make her mourning easier. I had to see her, I had to try to make her happy again...**

Sneaking into Castle Jarnhud had been easy: It was late, it was dark, everyone was asleep and I knew my way around like the back of my paw; besides, if anyone actually saw me, with Finn and Dagmaer floating around me as wisps, they'd quickly dismiss me as a ghost.  
>Nauma was asleep in my bedchambers, Felix curled around her. Despite his presence, her sleep was clearly tormented, she trembled and whimpered involuntarily in her sleep. I felt the pain emanate from Finn at the sight of his daughter suffering so. I didn't think they'd be able to follow me into the dream: Once I started, I'd be on my own, facing whatever Nauma had to face in her haunting dreams...<p>

**The process of entering a dream Involved directing the crystal and a degree of mental energy at a sleeping target, which was easy enough to do now I'd been taught how. However, entering the dream did involve blacking out in the real world as one's mind entered the unreal...**

my vision returned in a dark, featureless chamber with no windows or doors to be seen, the walls made of a bloody red brick which was warm and wet to the touch. Something about this room was off, threatening, the shadows didn't feel empty, and I felt eyes staring at me from all angles: The shadows hid monsters.  
>I heard crying further ahead, a frightened, trembling sob of a child somewhere in the darkness: I recognised it immediately as Nauma, her trembling whimpers reminiscent of her waking in the night from her worst nightmares, only now they were tenfold. Old maternal instincts kicked in, and I rushed towards the sound of my child's crying, I hadn't a clue what caused the crying, but the thought of her suffering set me into a protective fury. The room grew darker, the shadows felt <em>thicker<em>, as though I was wading through a thick, cold, boggy slurry; what was more worrying was that the shadowed felt as though they were _moving_. I could hear her, I could hear Nauma's crying grow ever louder. Then, I saw her.  
>"Nauma!" I cried out: She was huddled in a sobbing heap upon the floor as dark spirits floated around her, she lay bound to the ground in dark, oily shadows, though she made no attempt to resist, until she saw me that is.<br>"Mother?" She squeaked. "Mother? Is that you? Please help me! Please make them go away!"  
>I snarled, and forced my way through the sticky, grabbing shadows, obvious now they tried in vain to keep me from her. Their efforts were useless, and I tore through, fangs bared and eyes narrowed to slits.<p>

Something strange happened then. A new power flowed through me as I battled the spirits around me; an instinct deep within me tapped into this power: As I did, I begun to glow brightly, then the glow exploded into a bright aura! The dark shadows screeched and writhed in pain as the light flooded over them, forcing to retreat and fade away, leaving me and Nauma alone, and safe.  
>"Mother?" She stammered, jumping up on her hind legs and staring at me, awestruck and tearful. "Is it really you?"<br>I smiled weakly, the attack had taken it out of me, though I revelled in the fight, but not nearly as much as seeing Nauma again, even if she was in the form of a little dragon child (in fact, the memory of her bright, young face merely added to the enjoyment of the reunion). My own eyes went wet as I nuzzled her. "Yes, my dear. It's me. I'm here."

**We hugged, oh boy did we hug. The look of happiness in her face was heart-warming, though I was still confused as to why she was a child in this dream. Apparently, this had been a recurring nightmare for Nauma, which nobody in her court, not even Felix, could really help her. She was vulnerable and weak as a child, her magic didn't work, and she was utterly at the mercy of the spirits which haunted her dreams.**

**...However, with the spirits vanquished, the nightmare turned into a dream; a dream I had some degree of control over...**

Nauma and I sat atop a grassy hill, a warm summer sun bathing us in warmth: Our horizon saw a vast unending valley of rolling, hilly fields. As she did when she was little, Nauma had taken to sitting under my leg, leaning happily against the limb and enjoying the shade it provided.  
>"Erm..." Nauma finally peeped up. "...I'm a bit curious, but my head is still an adult, but do you know why I'm still a little child?"<br>"I can't really say." I responded. "...I suppose your nightmares just wanted to make you feel small, and helpless. You weren't much of a fighter as a child, you've depended upon your magic most of your life to stand up to people who want to hurt you." I felt a slight shudder from Nauma. "...But, now, those monsters are gone. They won't bother you here, and if they come back tomorrow night, I'll fight them off. And again, and again, however long it takes to help you overcome this."  
>The little dragoness hugged my leg. "Are you a ghost?"<br>"...In a way. I was called a high spirit by... By a friend." I explained. "And I've been given the task of looking after you, as something of a guardian angel."  
>"So" Nauma smiled, looking up at me as I looked down in return. "...You're real? You're really real." I nodded.<br>"I had to settle some affairs, and find your father and sister before I came to see you. Dagmaer and your father have missed you very much. They couldn't follow me into your dreams though... Perhaps soon, they can visit you in person, as will I."  
>Nauma seemed to frown somewhat. "Will you stay with me?"<br>"In your life? Always. In your dream? Of course. You're my little girl, and I'll be right here with you until you wake up..."

**And so I did. In this dream world of ours, we played, we ate, we laughed, we cried and we sat for hours in each other's company. At first, Nauma was like a little girl again, and was a constant joy, happy to have her mother back with her again, but as the night wore on, she wanted to talk, mostly about her future: With both her father and I gone from the mortal world, she feared she'd never know when she'd be ready to have kids, and pass on this new family name the remaining Jarnhuds had taken to calling themselves.**

**She needn't have worried. I had faith, this new House Av Danthe would see Nauma's blood passed down in a family line of her own; she'd know when the time was right for her, and me and Finn would be with her in spirit, every step of the way.**

**The End.**


End file.
